News from heaven.

News from heaven.

Sitting by my window in a remote little mountain town in Alberta I see peace and tranquility. Often, I used to picture what Heaven could be like and it was not better than what is in front of me. I could describe it for my readers but what’s the point. All the nice people that I meet here every day can look for themselves. People living in a mountain town with all the benefits of modern technology have a heavenly existence unless they refuse to see. Yes, there are pains, poverty, and heartbreaks, but there are reasons for it all. We do not see good if there is no evil to counter it. A little community in a forested valley crowned by mountains. Kind people smiling whenever they meet and helping each other. Wild animals grazing in town. Crows in the Crow’s Nest acting as if they own the place. It’s heaven.

 Some of my friends are talking about trips and cruises but I only feel regret for having to go away from here even for short durations. Anywhere which I can’t drive in a day and come back for the night is too far. I could be in another beautiful place but it wouldn’t be home. In the little-known gospel of Thomas, it states. “Jesus said, The kingdom is here but they do not see it.” I do.

I have another window I use regularly to view the world at large; it is called a computer. This most wonderful human invention allows me to see the whole world without going anywhere and it answers all my questions. I can ask how to make zucchini loaf or which country has most billionaires in the world, (India) and the answer is there. With very little effort, information pro and against any subject becomes available and I must make a choice who to believe.

When I open the window to the world, (The computer,) heaven disappears fast to be replaced by a hostile and aggressive world-threatening my perfect heaven story. Some of us are fortunate but most are not. I see a world on fire and fear enters my heart. This perfect existence that I and those around me enjoy, is very fragile and threats are looming from every direction.

I remember my mother telling me at a very young age how her peaceful world crumbled and became hell on Earth when the war began. One day she was a young girl living at home with a loving well-to-do family, and the next she was running away from bombs and hiding fugitives at risk of death. She spent her fourteenth birthday as a slave in a work camp.

I sympathize with the people who don’t watch the news because it’s too depressing. I did the same for a while. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw a much worst world and a dangerous world-threatening my little paradise. The people in pre-war Europe should have stayed more vigilant also and could have avoided the hell that became their reality. There were more than enough warning signs which they ignored.

Our so-called “news” is available from many sources. We used to have “real news” until some point around the eighties, but the rules were changed and they sold the news media to big news organizations. These often reflect the political and economic views of the owners becoming propaganda tools. Lucky for us there are still some outlets who refuse to be bought and exist upon true marketing not influenced by politics or often solely upon donations from large numbers of viewers who are willing to invest in an attempt to have real unbiased views.

I follow some independent news organizations who enable me to be aware of facts that remain unpublished by the mainstream media. It is all available. If one could follow all the news from near and far instead of the sports, entertainment, weather and other items which take the time of our favorite stations reports. There are brave news reporters who venture into dangerous places and risk their lives to get the news, but often the reports are not published. There are many who speak the inconvenient truth but we the people are denied access to them.

I live in paradise but easily can see that the world in which the Kingdom exists is in danger. Millions of people are moving around trying to find a place to live. Other groups are demonstrating in an attempt to gain real democracy and have human rights. Millions of youths are out demanding that governments will take steps to curtail activities that may destroy the earth. We can see heaven but so many others are in hell and we care.

I think that if we want to keep our heavenly existence, we must see our heaven with one eye while keeping the other on the rest of the world. Our first task is to ensure that our community remains an example of how wonderful it is when people make the best with what they have and care about each other. Next, we should care about those less fortunate than ourselves. The world, country, and our province are on fire. We should all think hard not only about immediate rewards but about all humankind now and in the future. We are a small group of people yet we have a voice not less than any other people. Let ours be the voice of justice, reason, and love for all.

I close my “eye to the world,” the computer, and look at the moon above the pine forests covering the mountains. Thank you, Lord I whisper with heartfelt gratitude. Another day is done and in the morning I should see the mist on the mountains and a fresh new sun. Perhaps the first person I will see on the street will smile and say “good morning.” Probably.

 

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.