Of Heaven
It is a boring place in camp.It's like a gathering place for moulds,a night club for them.For some reason all the bacterias seem to gather in army camps and attack the soldiers.It's the end of the course im taking in camp,and things are slowing down to a comfortable speed finally.Indeed,i am laughing out more and even the boys are noticing it.Oh well,i guess ive been able to reflect on myself once again,after such a long break.Afternoons are blazing hot these days,and the fans in the bunks seem to be the closest thing you can get to an air conditioned room.My bunk calls ourselves the "Sleepers".We sleep all day long,and we call this "Recreational" activity "Operation SWP".SWP in this case,stands for "Sleep Whenever Possible".You cant beat how much those guys love to sleep,and that includes myself.

Sometimes when the afternoon seems to drag a little too long,i would take out my notebook and jot down some random notes or poems just to keep the gears rolling again.One fine after i caught Wei Lun(The heavily tattooed man beside my bed.He really is nicer than he seems.Really)reading a book.Now that was a shocker,considering how tough he looked.On closer examination,my jaw nearly hit the floor when he was actually reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom.Heard about the book myself,but never got my hands on it.I admit,i am more of a fiction lover.The Bill Bryson i got myself didnt do it for me really.Yeah,he is a funny guy,but to be honest im not too excited when it comes to reading about a man's journey around England and making funny comments or gestures to almost everything.Although i must add,that he is a great writer and somebody whom i look up to.

Anyway,i borrowed the book from him and started reading about it.Never was into philosophical books,but since ive heard so many reviews about it i might as well give it a try.So on Wednesday afternoon i laid my hands on page one,and never stopped reading afterwards.

The book is about a man named Eddie,and he dies at the beginning of the book.He is in his eighties,and lost his family due to various reasons.He works at an amusement park called "Ruby Pier".Living a life without a goal and dream,Eddie wasnt far from a walking corpse.An accident that happened one day to a rollercoaster ride killed Eddie on the spot.He goes to heaven,and sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life.Each person has been waiting for him in heaven,and,as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.

I bet everybody has their idea of heaven.An idle place without worries or pain.No sufferings or sorrow.Just a place with pure innocence and joy.Picture a kingdom made up of cottom candy like clouds and high towers with dancing angels.Endless cigars and Coca Cola.Oh,and girls.Lots of them.Well,that's heaven to some people.Personally i havent really got a clear picture of how heaven is like.Never a very spiritual or religious person,which led to the lack of a mental picture of heaven in my mind.Perhaps if i try hard enough right now,it would probably be a place away from my own personal problems.(ie.NS).It's just the little things in life that makes up heaven you know.How the pure joy of you and your friends are together.Your first love,how you earned your place in a college,so on and so forth.They are pieced together to make up this giant jigsaw puzzle of heaven.

A concept of heaven was brought up as i watched "The Green Mile" the other night.As a death roll prisoner is about to walk the mile(Or,about to be executed),he told Tom Hank's character,Paul Edgecombs,that when a person dies and goes to heaven,you dont see angels or god.It takes you back to the moment in life,when you were the happiest.And for his character,was when he met his wife and they made love under and tree.Well,pretty twisted.But that's his heaven i guess.That's a beautiful concept isnt it?To live life once more,submerged in the happiest moment.

To think about my happiest moment in life,i dont have one.Not that i can think of anyway.No,my life was not a disaster movie,nor was it Casablanca.I had fun moments,memorable ones,happy ones,enjoyable ones.But i dont think any one of them is worthy enough to take the title of "Best moment in Life".I just dont think that day has come for me yet.Oh well,we will see.

I like the concept of meeting people you knew or barely knew in heaven after death.To look back on life the way it was and ponder over the "I Did" and "I Did Not"."Should have" and "Should have not".At the end of the journey through heaven,you do not regret on those things that you did or never did in life,but be glad that things happened the way they did and that it is time for you to move on with life.That i guess,is the ultimate lesson throughout the journey through the Kingdom of Heaven.

The book tells of sacrifices,love,hatred and how everything you do in life affects somebody else,even if it means nothing at first.Words you say,actions taken,and the ones kept inside for a tad bit too long.In Mitch Albom's heaven as he writes,it is a place where

"...there is no judgment, but rather an opportunity to examine our lives-who we touched, the choices we made, and the consequences of those choices."

I wonder who i am going to meet in heaven,if i were to die tomorrow.I wonder how my actions affected their lives,and how unexpected those consequences are going to be.I sure hope i dont meet someone like Jared Kong or Daniel Loke.Especially the latter,who might just start preaching about heaven and hell once more.(Oh,and not to forget Adams and Eve).The people that i misunderstood,or never had the chance to understand.The people that brushed passed my shoulder on the street and life,who meant something and nothing at all.How i affect their lives and how they affected mine.The story goes on,and we pay it forward to the next person.How that person's doings affect your life.You wait in your heaven,for that person to enter.How interesting is that?Love the book.Love it.

"All ending are beginnings. We just don't know it at the time..."

Song of the Moment---Free Fallin' by Tom Petty