Heaven

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Seven years ago I was asked by a friend if I was "religious and if I believed in God?" As a (formerly) practicing agnostic I quickly answered:"no." However, I defended myself by explaining that I lived my life according to universal principals of "right and wrong" (as I understood them). Because I believed that our deeds create a lasting effect on the world, I felt confident in my everlasting future. In other words, I wasn't worried about there being a heaven or not. I told my friend that when I die, I am banking on knowing that my impact on the world will be ever lasting. My "heaven" will ultimately be the creation of the the sum total of all my actions.

0 Z% y6 ]1 r/ g8 h  ~ I will never forget my friend's response: he looked at me with glassy eyes, and told me how deeply spiritual I was. I didn't see it. It took five more years to see what he meant. Such was the inspiration of the following poem I wrote.
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Heaven
The pebble is worn smooth
Made small over time
A product of a cataclysmic force of nature
A fragment of mountainous sheets of rock
5 @: Z" t4 i1 P; n' C2 z An accidental offspring of a boulder
1 @, H4 i5 i/ H" y7 N# K! s But just a very small stone.

The pebble's place in our world
Is neither understood nor appreciated
But when thrown into a glassy calm pond
Its insignificance is transformed
: L. N0 j' ?' ^) W! L, B) z Its meaning and purpose is unleashed.
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The instant the pebble kisses the pond
. m6 ^/ k! ^' m Its signature of concentric ripples
Spiral outwards
4 H* ^! m- O- C3 Z8 l  [$ ~) h8 m" Y Moving far beyond itself.
Gently affecting everything in its wake
Forever altering the smooth placid surface.

, |; _6 n! N, R0 K0 ]! {3 y1 ~' K The pebble creates its worth and meaning
4 L5 q, w" X- z0 r3 D$ C2 B By unleashing its unimagined power?
2 t! Y1 R, F) G+ X8 A1 L Into a dueling force of action and reaction
9 ^! V& r1 O7 G& f Creating karmic energy
% P/ P5 \6 {5 K3 y7 @  i: [ Producing lasting and fluid impressions.
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Aren't we all pebbles?
Feeling small and insignificant
But ultimately recognizing
That who we are meant to be
Can never be measured in isolation
on a path into ourselves.
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It is true then:
5 F7 {5 m- K: L$ B Our everlasting future
Is created by the indiscriminate tossing of pebbles
5 I5 Z2 |% H/ Q0 C! v; h# _& y Into the pond of life
0 @. q* b( B- U; n8 O, ~0 { Creating ripples
that leave unique mark on our world
1 R* ?! o9 A5 A; G Not because of thoughts
% M* f+ D4 p6 } not because of well meaning plans
- W7 J( |; |2 } But because of actions.

Our life's prayers our answered
. J% U5 k6 n1 Q Because even the smallest pebble
. k$ Z  _% v8 K' ~5 t0 y No matter how seemingly insignificant
- J+ S6 b) |! Y, V9 O5 D Changes the course of the lives
. M" i" }! J( e( X$ x1 w# {" c Of those we touch.?

8 B  @/ q( Y! h/ \! ` And when the icy winds of death
: e. }+ Z4 K: v beckon our lasting attention
We will gently leave this life
With the knowledge that
6 U( e( I) h( Z0 E" ~4 \9 F" K because of that one pebble
The world will never be the same.

And then we have heaven …
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: x: v% w7 W- ^ Ross Rosenberg
3 i. Y* Q9 Y. y/ A( ^% }! k; @- i% ] 8/18/03