What Dreams May Come (A Picture Is Worth Three Words)
I had a dream. You can call it a dream. It dealt with Eternity. It dealt with the only two places you can go after you leave this mortal coil.
I've had many dreams of Hell. Terrifying, all. In my younger days, they resembled some cheesy 80's metal album, or some direct-to-video Conan knockoff. But as I begin to understand what eternity without God is truly about, they become more grounded. More real.
Far, far more terrifying are these simple two facts: Hell is where one goes to be with their god, only too late realizing by far how more beautiful, magnificent, glorious, and just plain cool God is.
More practically, it's an incineration unit. The book of what one's life on Earth was, without God? It's pretty much a phone book full of numbers that are disconnected or no longer in service. EVERYTHING is God's. Even your memories.
And without Him, it's, well... Everything turns to ash. Everything. Aforementioned memories? Ash. Whatever was worshipped as god? Ash. Ashes, ashes, ashes. After it's all burned away, all that's left is black. Ash. Soot filled with anger, pain, hurt, sorrow, jealousy, fear, and most overwhelming, guilt. There's nowhere to direct any of this, because, well... it's all ash. No memories of what should've been done. No recollection of a better time. Nothing to take your focus away from all this overwhelming, overriding negativity. And oh, how fragile and useless it truly is. Completely and utterly worthless. Alone, yet indistinguishable from the ashes all around. Ash.
So that's that end of the spectrum. Kinda, sorta depressing, eh? Prior to maybe a week ago, I'd never actually dreamt of Heaven accurately. Hard to imagine I suppose.
Well, I can say that I finally get the Big Picture now. And thankfully, unless reality just comes crashing down or something, the old saying that if you die in your sleep, you die in real life? Not true. Unless either I actually did die, and was sent back (Cue Terminator 2 Theme Song).
Follow me, if you will... In this dream I had, I was murdered. Right before the point of impact, my life up until that point? It starts going backwards. Frame by frame, like a DVD being backtracked at slow speed, but with sound... it starts going in reverse faster, faster, FASTER... Until you're at day one. Suddenly, you realize you're standing before the Almighty Himself. It's time for the movie that was Your Time On Earth to undergo critical analysis. You get points for that which was done for Him. Everything else? Well, in my dream, you didn't get anything for it. And that which was under the Blood was nullified. But! You soon find out it still has some purpose.
The Answer.
Yes, THE Answer. THAT answer. Everyone asks it at some point. I think that's kind of a pre-requisite of being human. Or some derivative of it, thereof. I guess the easiest way to distill that question is...
"God, Why?"
After the critical analysis, Your Time On Earth starts playing... and then you see your screen start panning out. You see other movies. A sense of anticipation and excitement builds... It pans out further and further. You feel unalone. Somehow, you recognize certain movies... That's this person! Oh, cool! That's that person! Oh, there here too? Awesome!
Further and further it pans, more movies begin to be seen, and what was once an all encompassing screen becomes a pixel... You now feel a supreme interconnectedness to all these other pixels. But that's not your concern.
Your concern is what has now come into focus.
This is it. The moment you've been waiting for. The moment that you didn't even KNOW you've been waiting for. And yet, you've been waiting for it all your life. The picture coming into focus is the denouement. It's the ending to ALL the movies that have been playing, the dialog and soundtracks of lives to a character you've always been, in a scene that was written long before.
You are her. Yeah, dudes? Get ready to be a chick, and no, it's not gay.
A man, a king, a prince... He is standing in front of a mirror. He's been standing here a while. Is He? Will He? Next to his reflection is a beautiful woman. The most absolutely gorgeous woman. Beautiful to Him in every way. She is next to his reflection, anticipating. She's been on the other side of the mirror for so very long, trapped. Wanting to be by His side, wanting to finally be more than just a promise. He takes her hand.
Is this really happening? Finally?! Is He FINALLY gonna get the girl?!
She is pulled through the mirror. She comes out on the other side. HE DID IT! HE... HE FINALLY DID IT! You begin to realize that all the 'pixels'? They play the part of Her. We ARE her. Somehow, you're still you, but you are also Her. You are but a cell that makes up her body, and this is God's Big Picture. All those 'dark spots', so to speak? Like pixels, they make up this picture. But you're just a part, an element (pardon the pun). You're not even concerned a little bit about 'yourself'. You're undivided attention is on Him. Getting the girl.
They FINALLY, at long last embrace. And at that moment, in my dream, that frame froze. And I was the absolute happiest I've ever known to be. Because before that picture freezes, and before I saw that 'final' panel in my dream, He whispered something to her... He told her the Answer. The Answer to absolutely everything.
"I Love You"
I've had many dreams of Hell. Terrifying, all. In my younger days, they resembled some cheesy 80's metal album, or some direct-to-video Conan knockoff. But as I begin to understand what eternity without God is truly about, they become more grounded. More real.
Far, far more terrifying are these simple two facts: Hell is where one goes to be with their god, only too late realizing by far how more beautiful, magnificent, glorious, and just plain cool God is.
More practically, it's an incineration unit. The book of what one's life on Earth was, without God? It's pretty much a phone book full of numbers that are disconnected or no longer in service. EVERYTHING is God's. Even your memories.
And without Him, it's, well... Everything turns to ash. Everything. Aforementioned memories? Ash. Whatever was worshipped as god? Ash. Ashes, ashes, ashes. After it's all burned away, all that's left is black. Ash. Soot filled with anger, pain, hurt, sorrow, jealousy, fear, and most overwhelming, guilt. There's nowhere to direct any of this, because, well... it's all ash. No memories of what should've been done. No recollection of a better time. Nothing to take your focus away from all this overwhelming, overriding negativity. And oh, how fragile and useless it truly is. Completely and utterly worthless. Alone, yet indistinguishable from the ashes all around. Ash.
So that's that end of the spectrum. Kinda, sorta depressing, eh? Prior to maybe a week ago, I'd never actually dreamt of Heaven accurately. Hard to imagine I suppose.
Well, I can say that I finally get the Big Picture now. And thankfully, unless reality just comes crashing down or something, the old saying that if you die in your sleep, you die in real life? Not true. Unless either I actually did die, and was sent back (Cue Terminator 2 Theme Song).
Follow me, if you will... In this dream I had, I was murdered. Right before the point of impact, my life up until that point? It starts going backwards. Frame by frame, like a DVD being backtracked at slow speed, but with sound... it starts going in reverse faster, faster, FASTER... Until you're at day one. Suddenly, you realize you're standing before the Almighty Himself. It's time for the movie that was Your Time On Earth to undergo critical analysis. You get points for that which was done for Him. Everything else? Well, in my dream, you didn't get anything for it. And that which was under the Blood was nullified. But! You soon find out it still has some purpose.
The Answer.
Yes, THE Answer. THAT answer. Everyone asks it at some point. I think that's kind of a pre-requisite of being human. Or some derivative of it, thereof. I guess the easiest way to distill that question is...
"God, Why?"
After the critical analysis, Your Time On Earth starts playing... and then you see your screen start panning out. You see other movies. A sense of anticipation and excitement builds... It pans out further and further. You feel unalone. Somehow, you recognize certain movies... That's this person! Oh, cool! That's that person! Oh, there here too? Awesome!
Further and further it pans, more movies begin to be seen, and what was once an all encompassing screen becomes a pixel... You now feel a supreme interconnectedness to all these other pixels. But that's not your concern.
Your concern is what has now come into focus.
This is it. The moment you've been waiting for. The moment that you didn't even KNOW you've been waiting for. And yet, you've been waiting for it all your life. The picture coming into focus is the denouement. It's the ending to ALL the movies that have been playing, the dialog and soundtracks of lives to a character you've always been, in a scene that was written long before.
You are her. Yeah, dudes? Get ready to be a chick, and no, it's not gay.
A man, a king, a prince... He is standing in front of a mirror. He's been standing here a while. Is He? Will He? Next to his reflection is a beautiful woman. The most absolutely gorgeous woman. Beautiful to Him in every way. She is next to his reflection, anticipating. She's been on the other side of the mirror for so very long, trapped. Wanting to be by His side, wanting to finally be more than just a promise. He takes her hand.
Is this really happening? Finally?! Is He FINALLY gonna get the girl?!
She is pulled through the mirror. She comes out on the other side. HE DID IT! HE... HE FINALLY DID IT! You begin to realize that all the 'pixels'? They play the part of Her. We ARE her. Somehow, you're still you, but you are also Her. You are but a cell that makes up her body, and this is God's Big Picture. All those 'dark spots', so to speak? Like pixels, they make up this picture. But you're just a part, an element (pardon the pun). You're not even concerned a little bit about 'yourself'. You're undivided attention is on Him. Getting the girl.
They FINALLY, at long last embrace. And at that moment, in my dream, that frame froze. And I was the absolute happiest I've ever known to be. Because before that picture freezes, and before I saw that 'final' panel in my dream, He whispered something to her... He told her the Answer. The Answer to absolutely everything.
"I Love You"