#for ''normal'' people with their everyday not-deadly sins - there was purgatory

[batri-jopa]

Homegrown Thinker strikes again:

Let's talk about HEAVEN🪽 and PERFECTION🌌

The shortest way possible: if you imagine Heaven in the way that scares you - then the thing that you imagine is definitely NOT what Heaven is. If what you imagine being a Perfection seems boring to you - then you can be damn sure that's exactly NOT what perfection is.

Follow my thoughts if you dare.

I also once used to think about Heaven and Infinity etc. in that boring overhelming way that scared the shit out of me. There's a point in life of a kid in religious family when you can't decide whether the more terrifying concept is Death or Living Forever? Why do both seem equally scary? What are we missing?

Well, I can't be sure about you but to me - the scary part is the Infinity. It's The Abyss again [I already made a post about it], only Death is a dark hole and Heaven is a hole full of blinding light. But you can't see anything and you can't imagine it, so no matter if it's black or white - it's still just a fucking gigantic empty hole!

I suppose that what most of us think when thinking about The Perfection: the giant empty space, sterile clean, white, monolite surface full of blinding light. Literally the last thing you'd want to ever experience. Not to even mention the eternity...

Let's stop for a monent here. Where does this fucked up idea of "boring perfection" even come from? I suppose it's probably thanks to all the "church authorities" for centuries castrating our imagination. Condemning every single thing in this world that could bring us joy and calling it a sin. Until the point you filled your Heaven with only thing that's left: deadly boredom.

If that's your image then - STOP. Just stop right here and throw that shit away altogether.

Now let's start again with something simple.

One of the old ideas of afterlife is "Great Feast". And yes, I know it doesn't feel too much appealing to us, fed-up people of first world. But that's a concept to start with nevertheless.

Now I will say that the first time I was having unrestrained internet connection and I discovered online galleries like Elfwood and Deviantart - I could spend literal hours everyday browsing art, analysing it, downloading (yes, I was addicted but that's not the point). Being awed and inspired and having all the feelings you get when experiencing the amount of beauty and diversity you never even dreamed of! And once I understood that to end of my days I will never be able to see all the beautiful artworks that people keep on creating - it made me incredibly sad. At that time I imagined that I could live forever just to experience all the beauty and wonder of people's creations that there is!

So that's alternative concept for "infinite feast" that resonates with me: infinite gallery!

But let's not stop at visual arts. You may have the same thoughts when listening to beautiful music in a loop. Or watching your favorite movies one by one again and again, always finding new things and never getting tired of. Or binge-watching your show, wishing to know how it all ends and wishing that it never ends in the same time...

See? There is the yearn for infinity when you're given the right fuel.

But where is the perfection? What does it even mean that something is perfect?

If there's a well known painting - some may say it's close to perfection. But is every single brushstroke perfect or only a painting as a whole? And what about other works of the same artist, they are different but are they any less perfect? And other beautiful paintings this artist was inspired with? And all the ones that were created thanks to his inspiration? Isn't it often said that "student overgrown his master"?

What about the most beautiful concert? Is perfection only in music of one musician? Or in just one single sound of only one instrument? Of course not. The perfect concert is all the instruments and all the sounds. But there are also different music of the same compositor. And different musicians interpreting that music all over the world. And in different times. And also new music inspired with the older one. And maybe even painting inspired with that music and then the poem inspired with that painting and...

The perfection is not any fucking boring monolite. It's more like the ocean or the sky full of stars. The perfection is more than a puzzle, more even than the web. It's more of a fractal maybe? Because each of it part is just as perfect as the whole shape.

If god (or whatever else you want to imagine there) is the source of all the love and all the good and the beauty - that means The Perfection contains of all the love and goodness and beauty that ever appeared in this world! And even more than you could ever imagine!

It's like the gallery with all the paintings of an artist! Of all the artists! Of all the world! Of all times! Heaven is all that! And even more!

It's a giant library full of books that were ever written or planned to be written! With all the intertextuality between them! And all the movies, and the way one story came out of another, movie inspired with a book was inspiration for another movie, which was inspiration for an essay, which started another art genre, resulting in hundrets and thousands of more artistic creations! Heaven is all of that! And even more!

Now imagine love in all of it faces: the love the child have to their mother, the love between siblings, the bond between close friends, the tenderness you feel when holding a kitten or a baby, the joy you feel when you laugh with your friend at stupid joke nobody else understand but you two, the gratefullness you feel when somebody helps you without asking, the joy you feel when you managed to cheer someone up... The perfect harmony and understanding between all the people, of all ages, of all times! And with the nature as well, and animals, on different continents, different planets probably! In Heaven it's just all there! And even more!

And when imagining the God embracing you - never imagine any big arms of a giant, oh no, put that shit in the trash! Instead - remember every embrace, hug and touch you experienced or witnessed or imagined or heard of. Was it once too difficult to imagine that God is three persons at once? Now imagine God is ALL PERSONS all at once! Not separate thing, not other than them, better than them - it is THEM! The infinite amount of actual embraces, big and small, of all the people, of all times, in all dimentions! One by one or all at the same time, it's up to you! Add to that every possible warm glance, hot kiss, kiss on the cheek, kiss in the air, the lightest most shy touch and the orgasms big and small... Heaven is all that! And even more!

That what I believe heavenly perfection really is. I don't care what any fucking money-seeking bishop ever said about it. And I'm sure our souls can sense the perfection - that's what they came from in the first place - like drops of the ocean. And so whenever we experience something good or beautiful that we'd say is "close to perfection" - we're trembling or we're moved to tears. We feel that we could be experiencing it forever, we wish that this moment could last forever... Some can even say: that's it! I experienced perfection, I'm so satisfied that I can die now! (which is never the wisest thing to say, but... well).

So, what I wanted to say is that when our soul appears in Heaven - it just feels like home. The most familiar and perfect (on your-own-terms) relaxing feeling: "finally at home!"