osgart
Nothing my eye, Something for sure
In a sense you are right, because Earth is like a waiting room, and if we believe there is an afterlife far better than this life, we are waiting to get there.
“Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner. If once this life should offer a man a sweet cup, a hundred bitter ones will follow; such is the condition of this world. The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it; at some moments, even, he eagerly wisheth for death that he may thereby be freed from these sorrows and afflictions.” Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
“Verily I am pleased with both you and [your husband], and I ask God that you may find pleasure and ease in another world—for this earthly world is narrow, dark and frightful, rest cannot be imagined and happiness really is non-existent, everyone is captured in the net of sorrow, and is day and night enslaved by the chain of calamity; there is no one who is at all free or at rest from grief and affliction. Still, as the believers of God are turning to the limitless world, they do not become very depressed and sad by disastrous calamities—there is something to console them; but the others in no way have anything to comfort them at the time of calamity. Whenever a calamity and a hardship occurs, they become sad and disappointed, and hopeless of the bounty and the mercy of the Glorious Lord.” Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, pp. 263-264
I am waiting and in a sense I am looking forward to it while at the same time I am very nervous, like someone about to take a trip to somewhere they have never been, but in this case there is no return ticket back to earth.
That reminds me of what my mother-in-law once said to my husband: "I do not know if there is a heaven but I know there is a hell, because I have been in it all my life."
Ditto on that, except that I know there is a heaven.
That is true, God can only be discovered in the heart. That is not something I have been very successful with because I am still angry at God for having created this brutal world and making us endure it.
Hmmmm.... As I see it and experience it, life only takes, it does not give much. then again, my life has been a storehouse of suffering with no end in sight. I only have the following to cling to, if I can hang on that long.
“O My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 329
I know what its like to lose everything that i once seemed to have. So I understand that life on earth is not the life i am referring to. In my vocabulary this is existence, and life is a word i use to describe a far better circumstance.
Your Ba'hullah has a wonderful way of words. While i do not subscribe to the religion I do not discount that he has a genuine light of truth that is perhaps inspired by God.
Nature and circumstances knocked the notion of God right out of me for awhile. Since then i am starting to get more inspired by my searches for God. I got hung up on proofs, and evidences and the apparent lack thereof. Now i am trying to approach God through a perspective that the events of this existence pale in comparison to the glory of God. My opinion is that somehow this earth is exactly what we need right now, and we all have strayed and rebelled and looked toward doing things that cause us all harm instead of good. In a sense we all deserve to be here in this frying pan.
The evils of this world and the worst things that can befall a person are a result of rebellion. Some of the most respectable humans, while you might not consider them evil, but they have contributed a lot to the destructiveness of our world; nuclear bombs, etc.
So if we are not evil, we are, still, a most destructive rebellious species. And of course God would intend us to lose are dangerous ways.
