Heaven and Hell | Flash Post 420

What is this place? Heaven or hell?

It feels like heaven sometimes, Button, as well as hell. Simply put, if you are happy being somewhere it feels like heaven. When you are sad and unhappy, it’s seems like hell. When we were kids, we were told that if we were good and honest we’d go to heaven and if bad, we’d rot in hell. Heaven was supposed to be up there and hell down below.

Are they located in different places? Does heaven have its own space with an ornate gate and a nameplate where good people are allowed in, given a welcome drink and garlanded with cherubims  and seraphims blowing on their trumpets whereas the bad are thrown into a burning cauldron?

I am as confused as you are, Button.

How do you see heaven?

For me home is heaven. Huge crane flowers also called Birds of Paradise, native to South Africa, blossoming in our garden makes me feel I am in heaven. When I see a fat chameleon sleeping on a makeshift hammock, it makes me blissful. The fact he chose our garden as a resting place means that he finds peace here. When I step out into the garden every morning to chat with each and every plant, like the Jasmine, Brahmakamal, Lily, Birds of Paradise, Money Plants, Hibiscus, Rose, Crocus, Pansies, Geraniums—to name a few—and call them by names I have given them, I feel transported to heaven. I feel I am in heaven when I play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at 2 in the morning when everybody’s fast asleep and there’s pin-drop quietness. Over the years, I have trained my mind to appreciate the small things that make me feel good and lifts my varied moods. I don’t believe there is heaven somewhere and hell someplace else. They co-exist and it is in our hands to convert heaven to hell and vice versa.

What is the difference between haven and heaven?

Well, haven means a safe hideout. To use haven in a sentence you’d say:The garden was a haven from the noise and bustle of everyday life.

What is your idea of heaven, Button?

Up in the skies in a spaceship.

Is that because of the recent space travel undertaken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson?

Not at all. Just that flying to—what is it—8 or 9 planets and spending 2-3 months on each would be a dream come true. Can you tell me a little bit about the planets please?

As far as I know, the solar system has eight planets. Starting nearest to the sun and working outward are the following: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune though astronomers say there’s a ninth one which is 10 times the mass of earth.

That means we can land on each planet and spend a couple of months or more—depending on how much time we’d want to spend on each—and move on to the next. We can be on a perpetual vacation.

I have no knowledge which of these planets are habitable but your dream is totally achievable. For instance if a planet is too hot or too cold, you could spend less time there and stay longer on a planet where the climate is to your liking. Sounds thrilling. But Earth is the most habitable of all so far and, unlike other planets, has water and life and oxygen. Why would you want to hop around in a space ship from one planet to the other?

I have spent many years on planet earth and since I have never been on an adventure, it could prove to be an experience of a lifetime—something I’d like to tell my children and grandchildren about. And if I am lucky, I could even discover that elusive ninth planet and call it Button. For me that would be heaven for sure. Imagine a planet named after me!

If you were asked which planet you’d like to stay on the longest, where would that be?

On the 9th obviously. Is that even a question?