2006-04-22 12:41:3978J
The Five People You Meet in Heaven -- A Book Review
Five people meeting in heaven. Five lessons one can learn from anywhere, anyone and anytime but somehow neglected easily.
These five lessons serve as a good reminder, letting us take a step back if we’re lost, have hope if we thought there wasn’t none and realize a bit what life really is.
The first lesson, "Connection with people all the time".
Once in a while, we may think that we are all alone. Actually, that’s the only time wasted to think that way. If we treat everyone’s life as a story, then no story stands on its own, not a single one. Stories both affect others and are affected by others at the same time. There are stories within stories; stories out of stories; stories above, under and over stories. (Well, kinda manipulate words right now, anyway...) No one is left alone.
The second lesson, "Sacrifice".
When Eddie served his country as a soldier, his captain made sacrifices to save his soldiers in some combat. The cost of it was his death. Eddie didn’t know at first and after he was informed from his captain in heaven, he felt horrible and was sorry for it. However, that is not the point. The point here is, people give out something precious, even their death, to let others make the most of whatver that is. They are not losing it, instead, they are just passing it to someone else. They may not know it at the time but the passing does progress. The last thing one should feel is sorry, nor anything negative, ’cause sacrifice is part of life, and as people can somehow see it from a further perspective, they wouldn’t care a bit.
(By the way, Eddie sacrificed too, which also caused him to death, just like his captain. He did so to save a little girl, to keep an accident from happened to her. That little girl just received something precious from Eddie.)
The third lesson, "Forgiveness is the best cure".
In the story, Eddie’s dad did bad things to him, as all parents would damage their children in some way. Matter-of-factly, though sorry to say, that can’t be avoided. Neglect. Silence. Violence. Children can be miserable for being through those things. Eddie’s dad seldom spent much time on Eddie, rather played his card game. He was stubborn; he was speechless; he was hard on Eiddie; he had trouble converying his love to his own son, if there was any. For that, Eddie hated his father. Given that he respected and admired his father, like all sons do, and longed for the love of his but got none, he hated his father more. However, Eddie didn’t notice that he was hard on his father, too. He kept those bad feelings to his death, to heaven. Not until he was learned later did he forgive and let go.
Holding anger is bad for our health, whether phsically or mentally. It is, that is to say, a poison actually, eating us from inside. Hatred hurts both ways, to oneself and those s/he hates. It’s a weapon, if they think that way, that would do harm to both sides. Only they don’t know it hurts backwards to the fullness, though. As long as the hard feeling--hatred exits, the wound will never be healed. However long time passes, it’s just there, never goes away. This way, the best solution to save oneself is to forgive the one whom hurt you, to accept the wound that once torn you down, and to face it with all your strength. It’s never easy, of course. But for one’s own good, things can be unforgettable but should never be unforgivable and no matter how long or how hard it takes, better manage it.
Shit happens all the time. Better just let go.
The fourth lesson, "Love actually is all around".
"Every life has one true-love snapshot". As for Eddie, his was his beloved wife, Marguerite. He knew this very girl he wanna marry from the first sight of her. He gave whole his heart to her and his life was complete because of her. With the death of Marguerite, he’d thought his love went to an end and furthermore, nothing could barely arise his interest. He, then, just stopped celebrating his birthday and no more taffy with ribborn, the sweet his wife would prepare for him. No more invitation. No more birthday cake. No more fun. Nothing. He felt he lost everything since he lost her.
He still thought about her all the time, though. While eating, working, daydreaming, walking, sitting, being alone and even talking to others, it was her that kept his mind busy, nothing else. But the very thing he failed to consider was that life would, sooner or later, go to an end but true love never dies. It’s just presented in different forms. Yes, she was gone. Yes, he couldn’t see her anymore, except in his dreams. Yes, life seemed meaningless afterwards. Yes, it should take two to complete the couple. But love still exits. The form it showed and was replaced here was his memory of her. Love is never lost and however much he thought about her, how strong their love would be. Most of the time, love grows strong from above, soaking the couple with joy. This is what shows up in front of people. After one of the couple passed away, just like the case of Eddies’, love changed its appearance, went deep, lied beneath, and hid inside of the couple. We can’t see it from outside ’cause the form has changed to another. Memory. Memory is the evidence of love right here.
I believe in that and am nearly haunted by that idea. I believe that no matter how long I’ve been searching and waiting for, there is also someone somewhere searching and waiting for me. Eventually, I can find her and she can find me. It can be anywhere, anytime. The last thing I should do is to get anxious or feel bad about myself. The reason is simply, Love actually is all around.
The fifth lesson, "Life, the whole picture of it".
The last lesson talks about why people live and what they live for. People sometimes think that their life is not only a disaster but also meaningless, some life totally different from what they want. Something else. Something they’ve dreamed of. Something they’ve wanted so bad. For some reason, that never happened. To their view, what took place instead is something lousy, something worthless. They just gave up their dreams. What they do really just manages to pay the bills. However, God has His plan.
Eddie was the chief maintenance in Ruby Pier (the name of an amusement park). His job was to keep machines funtioning the way they should be, then further, to keep children safe. He could’ve left the place and taken another job, in his mind any job he might think of would better than this maintenance thing. It was his mother who kept him there. To take care of her took away his dreams. He, as a maintenance, greased his hands, got dirty, and repeated the same routine days over months, over years. He blamed on his folk for his own lame life, though never really said out loud and complained. Not until the last kid he met in haeven told him the whole thing did he realize that his job was that important. To keep things in good shape. To keep children save. That was why he lived and what he lived for.
Sometimes, we’re just like Eddie, thinking our jobs as lousy as hell; we never take a step back and get the whole picture. Writers write to let readers think. Drivers drive to get passengers to the destination not only on time but safe. Translators translate to let natives know what’s going on in other countries. Architects build to let people get places called home. Singers sing to let their audience relax or get excited. Even dish washer wash to let customers get clean food (bad example, I know...) Anyway, the point I wanna make here is that no one lives for nothing. There is also some meaning of it, maybe behind the surface sometimes, but it’s still there. It’s not an excuse for one’s laziness or passiveness. It’s just a short notice of why people live and what they live for.
Five people in heaven. Five lifelong lessons for everyone. No matter how we interpret life through these five lessons, the very point may be, experience life to the full extent.
These five lessons serve as a good reminder, letting us take a step back if we’re lost, have hope if we thought there wasn’t none and realize a bit what life really is.
The first lesson, "Connection with people all the time".
Once in a while, we may think that we are all alone. Actually, that’s the only time wasted to think that way. If we treat everyone’s life as a story, then no story stands on its own, not a single one. Stories both affect others and are affected by others at the same time. There are stories within stories; stories out of stories; stories above, under and over stories. (Well, kinda manipulate words right now, anyway...) No one is left alone.
The second lesson, "Sacrifice".
When Eddie served his country as a soldier, his captain made sacrifices to save his soldiers in some combat. The cost of it was his death. Eddie didn’t know at first and after he was informed from his captain in heaven, he felt horrible and was sorry for it. However, that is not the point. The point here is, people give out something precious, even their death, to let others make the most of whatver that is. They are not losing it, instead, they are just passing it to someone else. They may not know it at the time but the passing does progress. The last thing one should feel is sorry, nor anything negative, ’cause sacrifice is part of life, and as people can somehow see it from a further perspective, they wouldn’t care a bit.
(By the way, Eddie sacrificed too, which also caused him to death, just like his captain. He did so to save a little girl, to keep an accident from happened to her. That little girl just received something precious from Eddie.)
The third lesson, "Forgiveness is the best cure".
In the story, Eddie’s dad did bad things to him, as all parents would damage their children in some way. Matter-of-factly, though sorry to say, that can’t be avoided. Neglect. Silence. Violence. Children can be miserable for being through those things. Eddie’s dad seldom spent much time on Eddie, rather played his card game. He was stubborn; he was speechless; he was hard on Eiddie; he had trouble converying his love to his own son, if there was any. For that, Eddie hated his father. Given that he respected and admired his father, like all sons do, and longed for the love of his but got none, he hated his father more. However, Eddie didn’t notice that he was hard on his father, too. He kept those bad feelings to his death, to heaven. Not until he was learned later did he forgive and let go.
Holding anger is bad for our health, whether phsically or mentally. It is, that is to say, a poison actually, eating us from inside. Hatred hurts both ways, to oneself and those s/he hates. It’s a weapon, if they think that way, that would do harm to both sides. Only they don’t know it hurts backwards to the fullness, though. As long as the hard feeling--hatred exits, the wound will never be healed. However long time passes, it’s just there, never goes away. This way, the best solution to save oneself is to forgive the one whom hurt you, to accept the wound that once torn you down, and to face it with all your strength. It’s never easy, of course. But for one’s own good, things can be unforgettable but should never be unforgivable and no matter how long or how hard it takes, better manage it.
Shit happens all the time. Better just let go.
The fourth lesson, "Love actually is all around".
"Every life has one true-love snapshot". As for Eddie, his was his beloved wife, Marguerite. He knew this very girl he wanna marry from the first sight of her. He gave whole his heart to her and his life was complete because of her. With the death of Marguerite, he’d thought his love went to an end and furthermore, nothing could barely arise his interest. He, then, just stopped celebrating his birthday and no more taffy with ribborn, the sweet his wife would prepare for him. No more invitation. No more birthday cake. No more fun. Nothing. He felt he lost everything since he lost her.
He still thought about her all the time, though. While eating, working, daydreaming, walking, sitting, being alone and even talking to others, it was her that kept his mind busy, nothing else. But the very thing he failed to consider was that life would, sooner or later, go to an end but true love never dies. It’s just presented in different forms. Yes, she was gone. Yes, he couldn’t see her anymore, except in his dreams. Yes, life seemed meaningless afterwards. Yes, it should take two to complete the couple. But love still exits. The form it showed and was replaced here was his memory of her. Love is never lost and however much he thought about her, how strong their love would be. Most of the time, love grows strong from above, soaking the couple with joy. This is what shows up in front of people. After one of the couple passed away, just like the case of Eddies’, love changed its appearance, went deep, lied beneath, and hid inside of the couple. We can’t see it from outside ’cause the form has changed to another. Memory. Memory is the evidence of love right here.
I believe in that and am nearly haunted by that idea. I believe that no matter how long I’ve been searching and waiting for, there is also someone somewhere searching and waiting for me. Eventually, I can find her and she can find me. It can be anywhere, anytime. The last thing I should do is to get anxious or feel bad about myself. The reason is simply, Love actually is all around.
The fifth lesson, "Life, the whole picture of it".
The last lesson talks about why people live and what they live for. People sometimes think that their life is not only a disaster but also meaningless, some life totally different from what they want. Something else. Something they’ve dreamed of. Something they’ve wanted so bad. For some reason, that never happened. To their view, what took place instead is something lousy, something worthless. They just gave up their dreams. What they do really just manages to pay the bills. However, God has His plan.
Eddie was the chief maintenance in Ruby Pier (the name of an amusement park). His job was to keep machines funtioning the way they should be, then further, to keep children safe. He could’ve left the place and taken another job, in his mind any job he might think of would better than this maintenance thing. It was his mother who kept him there. To take care of her took away his dreams. He, as a maintenance, greased his hands, got dirty, and repeated the same routine days over months, over years. He blamed on his folk for his own lame life, though never really said out loud and complained. Not until the last kid he met in haeven told him the whole thing did he realize that his job was that important. To keep things in good shape. To keep children save. That was why he lived and what he lived for.
Sometimes, we’re just like Eddie, thinking our jobs as lousy as hell; we never take a step back and get the whole picture. Writers write to let readers think. Drivers drive to get passengers to the destination not only on time but safe. Translators translate to let natives know what’s going on in other countries. Architects build to let people get places called home. Singers sing to let their audience relax or get excited. Even dish washer wash to let customers get clean food (bad example, I know...) Anyway, the point I wanna make here is that no one lives for nothing. There is also some meaning of it, maybe behind the surface sometimes, but it’s still there. It’s not an excuse for one’s laziness or passiveness. It’s just a short notice of why people live and what they live for.
Five people in heaven. Five lifelong lessons for everyone. No matter how we interpret life through these five lessons, the very point may be, experience life to the full extent.