you can know

  Martin Luther King famously said, "in the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." He was talking about the tacit approval of our friends when they fail to speak up. I saw that quote this morning as I was scrolling down my Facebook page. The first thought that came to mind was a question of my own, when I am gone will I remember anything? Will we remember this life? There's a commercial on television I've been seeing lately asking whether you will go to heaven or hell. It goes on to say I can know for sure. All I have to do is go to Heaven or Hell.Net. Apparently, there is a website for that. Somehow, I suspect for a small donation the answer can be changed should it say I'm going to hell! I also suspect for my continued support heaven will be assured. But I'm skeptical about such things.

 As to the question of heaven and hell I'm thinking if I remember this life, that would be hell. An eternity of questions and doubt? An eternity of remembering all those that did me wrong, all the things that went bad, all the heartaches and pain. If I could forget all of that and only remember the love and caring I have received in this world that would be heaven. So maybe heaven and hell just depend upon what you do remember. Do we remember the words of our enemies? Those words certainly angered us, made us want justice or retribution. That wouldn't be good in heaven. Heaven is all about forgiveness.

 The silence of our friends is what Dr. King was talking about. Disappointment and betrayal. Not good things in heaven either. It presents a bit of a quandary. King did go on to say that forgiveness doesn't mean ignoring the wrong, or calling it by some other name, quite the popular tactic today I might add, it just means not allowing that to get in the way of getting along with one another. Today he would probably say something like, you can call it what it is without being phobic! You don't have to hate someone to tell them the truth! The truth may not endear them to you, but your conscious is clear. I wasn't just silent.

 Maybe heaven is just really about accepting reality. Maybe this world isn't real but some sort of giant video game. It's an idea that has been presented in a lot of ways over the centuries. The ancient Greeks thought the Gods were just playing games with us. Aliens came here, built some pyramids and left us on our own. The basic things have remained constant. Man has a way of screwing things up with his emotions. That's the reason for wars. That was addressed with the creation of Spock, a purely logical being except his parents had interbred and he was partly human, that's the part we really liked about him. He could get emotional but still did the logical thing. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. He was a socialist. Always a good thing when someone else pays the price. 

 The Bible quotes Jesus as saying I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the father except through me. What does that mean? I think it means you won't find rest, find contentment until you simply admit to the truth. You have to accept the truth for what it is, despite your feelings about that. The real challenge is in determining the truth. Your closest friends will tell you that, if they are truly your friends. Friends are a gift and there should be no expectation of return. The truth lies not in what you believe, but in what you experience. When others do not accept your truth, it is unsettling. The pragmatists will say it is only true if everyone agrees that it is true. The believer will simply accept truth without evidence. Can truth be created by the will of the masses? No, the truth remains regardless. That doesn't determine truth. Who or what does? Well, that depends upon what you believe. I'm thinking there is an app for that, probably at the Google store.