Live happily ever after
Children all over the world love to hear the fairytale stories of the charming prince and the beautiful princess. What is it about these prince and princess love stories that enchant even the most mature of grownups? Is it how the words “Once upon a time” can immediately transport your adult mind to a world of imaginary lands and magical beings? Or is the wonderful anticipation of its perfect fairytale ending, “And they lived happily ever after”?
Being happy and in love, whether with life or with a special someone, is everyone’s perfect dream. We fall in love with people who we believe will bring us happiness. Many humans have babies because they believe a child will bring them a special love and happiness. People dream about having careers that bring fulfillment and make them happy.
The reason that the happily-ever-after story continues to just be an old fairytale is because humans expect things that are outside of themselves to bring them happiness. Instead of working on achieving happiness, humans harbor a secret wish that a prince or princess will come save them, sweeping them away from their not-so-stellar lives. And when life doesn’t turn out the way they expect, thoughts of death and dying and going to some other better world seem like the only option to escape a mind full of misery.
I wonder why was there a war in Heaven if Heaven is supposed to be the peaceful, happy place for us to return to live. Considering that when a person dies, he only takes with him what he has learned and his character as a human, I only see billions of depressed, anxious, fearful, and even hateful people ready to leave Earth and go to Heaven. Where are all the happy people who are meant to be in heaven?
Christ, the son of God, along with other enlightened beings such as Buddha, taught that we are to live in the present moment, not in some nostalgic past or some worrisome future. Christ in his Sermon on the Mount said: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:25-26, 31-33). If we are to truly live in the present moment, then wouldn’t peace, harmony, and love, all the qualities we want in our lives in Heaven, be what we choose to experience in our present moment?
Here’s another thought. Christ came to Earth as God in human form to immortalize his human body, not any other body. And Christ’s body is perfectly made to enjoy a beautiful life on Earth, not a life on any other planet or existence. Christ paid the price of death so that we would not have to die. So if we are not supposed to die, where are we going to live? Is that our challenge, to learn how to perfect and immortalize our human bodies while we are on Earth, just like Christ did?
Also, it seems silly that we come to Earth to learn and grow and create homes, families, children, wonderful careers and inventions just to want to leave it all because we believe there is a better place out there called Heaven. And even if you believe in reincarnation, this doesn’t change the fact that the life that you are living in this moment is meant for you to live to the fullest and be happy.
Living outside of the moment and stewing over what you need to make you happy sets you up for deep disappointment. This is because, just like the weather, situations and people change over time. Life, and especially the people in your life, is not meant to please you every single day. Choosing to be happy is your job. And real happiness comes when you choose to be happy in spite of the imperfections of life. This choice is the first step to creating what God intended: Heaven on His beautiful Earth.
Just a few things to think about when you’re ready to walk away from everything because you believe happiness can only come with death.
Once upon a time, I finally understood that my happiness depends on how I live in the now. This was the moment I began to love myself and learn to live happily ever after.
Mother Owl
