Monday Mantra: Hell is Empty...

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: ...and all the devils are here (The Tempest)

"I'm not here to tell you if this is heaven or hell."
Society6
Lucas Gondim

I find different beliefs on heaven and hell fascinating. I find religion, all the different religions mixed with all the different cultural beliefs, widely intriguing. What I was raised to believe, what I believe now instead, what makes sense not just in my head, but in my heart- these are the things I think about.

Hell

I went home and visited my mom over the weekend and she requested my presence at church. I haven't been in a very long time. During the sermon my pastor mentioned something that I haven't heard before. He quoted something from the bible about heaven and hell. How, when judgment day comes, it will be a 50/50 equation of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. That half of the earth will be granted passage to the city in the sky and the other half will not. The other half will stay here.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, and I don't really remember reading this or learning about this back in my Vacation Bible School days as a kid, but what he said made me think: Is this supposed to be hell? Eventually? For some people, I think it already is.

Heaven

There's a song by Black Veil Brides called In The End. The founder of the band, Andy Biersack, wrote this after his grandfather died. During his grandfathers funeral people were constantly saying how good his grandfather had been, what a wonderful person he was. Those comments are what led him to think about what heaven might be: not a place, but what everyone is left with after you've gone. That heaven might be your legacy, told time and time again by the people who continue to tell the story of your life after you're gone.

In the end, 
As you fade into the night, 
Who will tell the story of your life,
And who will remember your last goodbye...

I'm not afraid to die.