Musings: Time – Flying Or Not?

For the trillionth time in the past few years I heard someone say, “Oh my God, time is just flying by”.  And I mentally concurred as I noted the date on the calendar.  It’s November 2009, almost Thanksgiving with Christmas knocking on the door.  And, as usual, I found myself internally asking, “Where does the time go?”

Well, it goes by doesn’t it?  I mean it doesn’t go for a walk, or to the movies, nor does it go to bed or on vacation!!  It simply goes by, tick-tocking the seconds one by one.  It never stops, nor does it go back on itself.  It keeps on marching and no one can stop it or change it.

Sometimes when I think about the inexorable passing of time I get in a bit of a panic.  I suspect that’s the very human part of me that recognizes underneath it all that with the passing of time my life span gets shorter by the second.  However, there are other moments when I feel quite OK with the passage of time and I’m sure that’s when I’m more spiritually fit, when I’m more God-centered rather then me-centered.

I actually have a personal theory as to why time seems to be flying by.  I’m very sure that the closer my soul feels to home, the more it seemingly accelerates time.  It wants to get there, no delay!!  I am of course speaking from a Christian perspective.  I do believe in an after-life and I think that the closer I get to my transition date from this earth, then my soul is just in a hurry to get there.

Then I find myself thinking about heaven and what that might be like. When I was younger I used to imagine thousands of us, all glowing white and gold, surrounded by angels with long golden trumpets, just kind of bobbing around in this shiny nebulous place – rather like bobbers on a fishing line all massed together and smiling beatifically at each other.

Today my idea of heaven is greatly changed.  Seeing as it’s my goal to get there I’ve given it quite a lot of thought.  I’m very sure there will be activity rather than just sitting or standing around “bobbing” and beaming at the other souls.  I really imagine some of it will allow me to sit on a seashore or a riverbank with Jesus and Buddha, Gandhi and Gibran, Richard Bach and Og Mandino, Marianne Williamson and Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Princess Di and Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II and Wayne Dyer.

There will be time to talk with them, collectively and individually.  Unlimited time to ask them questions and have long discussions with them.  I am sure I will meet the spiritual beings that were my family members and friends and that we will be able to connect in ways that were impossible here on earth because of the lessons we were learning, or teaching, here.

Most importantly there will be love, complete and unconditional love which will be the true source of happiness and joy.  Practicing compassion will be the norm. There will be a beauty that transcends any earthly concept of beauty.  And there will be no pain and no hatred.  Now that’s what I call heaven.