A Place Called Heaven (Happiness is a state of mind)

"A Place Called Heaven" is a short story based on a dream.  I posted it because it relates to happiness. Those on the dark side of Heaven were limited by their hopes and expectations. As a result, they lacked willpower to make it to the bright side of reality. Last Sunday, I listened to a lecture on happiness--the difference between natural happiness and "synthetic" or man-made happiness.  According to the lecturer, there was no difference in the way our brain records it, so whether our happiness is natural (we get what we want so we're glad about it) or whether happiness is synthetic (we don't get what we want but find happiness despite disappointment), it's up to us to train our brains to think happy thoughts. Research tells us that the brain focuses on negativity first in order to keep us safe, so if we fuel it with more negativity, the brain accepts negativity as the norm and creates more negative thoughts because it aims to also make us happy in addition to keeping us safe. But these negative thoughts can become incessant and lead to emotional disorders like depression. No matter how badly we feel, we've got to accept that negativity is the brain's way of keeping us safe, but we can retrain our brain to focus on good thoughts until it learns to accept positive thinking as the new normal. Practice makes perfect. Retraining the brain happens one day at a time.  Happiness is natural, but synthetic happiness is the next best thing. We need to acknowledge and process our negative thoughts--write about them and reflect. Then we need to negate, challenge, and replace them with positive thoughts--every time. Step by step, day by day, the brain can be trained to create the happiness we deserve.

"A Place Called Heaven" - continuation

A Place

Called “Heaven”     

                                    By Emme H. Johnson

In heaven, there are animals, but only animals with a gentle disposition live on the bright side of heaven. Animals with an instinct to kill or destroy roam around the dark side, not because they have to but because they dare not cross the sparkling streets that separate the two sides of heaven. According to legend, the King of Beasts came growling across the golden streets in search of something to eat. Suddenly, the streets turned into hot liquid that boiled him until he was a pile of bones that sank beneath the surface of the earth.  All of the vicious animals looked on but none tried to help. Afterwards, they had nothing to say. Since that day, the  kind and gentle animals have been able to roam on the light side of heaven without being attacked or eaten alive. Scavengers and birds of prey don’t exist because food is abundant, and the gentle animals don’t really die.  They just fade away.  Some fade into the mountains, some become silvery blades of grass, others become new leaves on a tall oak or sycamore tree. That way, they have eternal life.

There is also a legend that explains why the two sides of heaven continue to exist. They say it’s easy to cross after you have suffered on the dark side long enough.  How long to suffer is up to the individual, but no one makes a fuss. According to legend, if the attitude of the people living on the dark side was better, their life condition would be better, and if they tried to reach the light side, they might succeed. What those on the dark side lack is faith. But those on the dark side of heaven don’t believe in legends and they don’t believe in faith. They only believe in luck and their luck is always bad.

People on the bright side of heaven smile every day. They tell jokes and say, “goodmorning.” On the dark side of heaven, things are different. There is moaning, wailing, and people begging for someone to scratch their hairy backs, but no one listens. If they pass each other along the path that leads deeper into the darkened woods, they say goodbye, which really means, “good day” because on the dark side of heaven, dying is the best they can hope to achieve. They go about their day picking strangely shaped berries and fruits or scratching in the ground for roots. Except for the river flowing in circles so fast it makes one dizzy, water that runs in babbling streams through the dark side of heaven is filled with leaves and broken tree limbs, so they must dig through the muck so the clear water can bubble up. Then, they bend over, put their mouths in the water and drink as fast as possible before the water dries up.

Day in and day out, people on the dark side of heaven repeat the same tasks. Scratching in the ground for gold, food or water, bidding each other goodbye, and hoping for luck. People on the bright side of heaven can change.  If they wake up in a happy mood, they can be a child or adult. They can sit and read or climb trees and play with other children. Females cannot change into males and males cannot change into females, but if a female feels like being a male or a male wants to be a woman, all they have to do is make a wish, and they can be whatever they want to be. There is no name for different sexes because whatever they feel like being on any given morning, they can be, without changing anything at all.

On the bright side of heaven, they live in a gigantic castle of dreams at the top of a hill where everyone says a prayer when they awake and before they go to sleep. Each morning, everyone is required to make a list of one goal they hope to accomplish during the day. They also must list one objective. A goal is something pleasant that they enjoy while an objective is something that might not be fun, but it must be done. After breakfast together, eating whatever they wish, they share experiences from their yesterday. They discuss their trials and errors, offer encouragement, exchange kisses and hugs. Afterwards, they are free to roam about the gardens and swim in the lakes until bedtime. Before bedtime, they wash each other’s feet slowly, carefully, and lovingly. After a warm bubble bath in one of a thousand mountain hideaways, they find a place to fall on their knees to pray. When they want to sleep, a tiny cloud appears by their side. One by one they climb aboard their tiny clouds and fall asleep.

On the light side of heaven inside the castle of dreams, there is darkness and light, and there is a change of seasons, but it is never cold, wet or unpleasant. The sun shines bright inside the castle as well as outside on the mountains and valleys. But inside the castle, day and night is only a state of mind.  The simple words, “It’s bedtime,” cause the atmosphere in the castle to change. When it’s time to sleep, the atmosphere grows dark, and when the morning comes, the sunlight reappears. There is sadness on the light side of heaven, but there is no sickness. Sadness is usually caused by holding on to things that are temporary, instead of letting go. Sadness is caused by self-centered words and deeds. Everything and every one in heaven has a purpose, and when people cling to one another, purpose is not being achieved.  Most goals on the light side of heaven have to do with finding and achieving ones purpose so they can again return to earth and try to achieve their divine purpose once more. Contrary to stories and myths, heaven is not perfect, but it is a place where perfection will be achieved one day at a time up in heaven or somewhere on earth.

On the dark side of heaven, the sun shines, the rain falls, the seasons change. The people experience the same illnesses they had on earth except they don’t pray for better circumstances. They pray for better luck. They remain stuck in their past because of fear. Right at their footsteps is the bright side of heaven, but they choose to believe in negative stories from the past. Whether someone tried to cross the golden streets and reach the light side of heaven, they don’t really know, but each one is terrified to set foot on the pavement to reach the other side. Some say the street is really a golden river that welcomes anyone who tries to cross. Others say it is a burning death trap. But everyone on the dark side of heaven is afraid to take the risk. Instead, they suffer, wail and moan in hopelessness. Luck won’t get them to the other side, only faith. The light side of heaven seems to be a welcoming place, but first, they must feel they deserve to be there. Then they must have faith that they can make it there.

Stand up for yourself

Stand up for yourself. Submissiveness or taking a low profile is only good if you're supported by a pack of wolves, if you were born that way and don't want to change, or if you're dead. Submissiveness is usually the result of low self-esteem, and if this becomes predominant, it can lead to emotional disorders like depression. Feeling like a social outcast, feeling judged and ostracized, being negatively labeled or treated as an "outsider," one becomes insecure when it comes to dealing with others. We become either too passive or too aggressive in our social interactions. When this happens, we lose our ability to stand up for ourselves, to protect ourselves, or to deal with toxic people in our lives. We become vulnerable to physical abuse and harassment. Research shows that depression is associated with the stress that comes with subordination, diminished self-esteem, harassment or abuse. The best cure for low self-esteem is becoming assertive enough to stand up for ourselves and build a network of supportive people who care. Before this can happen, allowing toxic people in our lives has got to stop. Being supported by others is affirming and it builds confidence, but there is no confidence-builder equal to assertiveness and standing strong. We need to understand and fulfill our basic needs, without disrespecting the rights of others. It's important to stand up for ourselves, or nobody else will.

Travel often--with a partner or solo because it's the right thing to do, fun too!

Sometimes you want something different when it comes to brightening up your day. Traveling always brightens up my day. I've just returned from a family reunion (not usually the most relaxing atmosphere but this one was different and quite relaxing). This one was held in Dallas, TX at a very nice hotel and for a very reasonable price. There's something about nice hotels that make me think I've traveled across the universe. When it comes to traveling, you don't need to go too far, just far enough. My flight to Dallas wasn't nonstop, and unfortunately or fortunately we suffered multiple delays before the flight was cancelled altogether. I ended up spending the night at the Clarion Hotel near LaGuardia Airport. I was in 7th heaven because instead of airport food, I was able to find a little bodega specializing in bacon & egg on a roll for $2.50. Believe it! Only in New York! After walking around the neighborhood in that section of Queens, I took the shuttle to the airport. Nothing special about having your flight cancelled, except getting to visit my home town if only for a moment or two--and those free round trip tickets to anywhere the airline flies. Now, the challenge is to find an available seat to an acceptable destination.

"A Place Called Heaven" is a fantasy (in progress)

WRITING IS THERAPEUTIC & SO IS TRAVEL, SO TODAY I'M WRITING CREATIVELY AND TOMORROW I'M TRAVELING--SEE YOU IN A WEEK UNLESS I GET A CHANCE TO WRITE. "A Place Called Heaven" is a work in progress (so feel free to comment). "A Place Called Heaven" By Emme H. Johnson I awoke from a dream last night with a vision of a place called “Heaven.” In the dream, the first thing I saw was an image of my mother’s face as she smiled at my sister playing in a field of yellow daffodils overlooking a luscious green valley split into two areas— darkness and light. Colors came mostly in hues. Extremes like the color black and white did not exist. On the light side of the valley, people were strolling along the banks of a sparkling river, some following alongside a golden path separating the two heavenly realms that otherwise existed side by side. All anyone had to do if they got tired of one side is walk across the glittering roadway into the other heavenly realm. But nobody tried. At least, not anymore. The light side of heaven glitters like gold. Every once in a while, iridescent bubbles spring from one of the babbling pools of cool water and rise high into the sky. Then there is a tiny bubbling sound, like a thousand tiny clowns spreading giggles through the air. Birds of every color imaginable fly high in the air over mountains and rainbows, even above a silver moon that glows effervescent and smiles every once in a while. It flickers once or twice at bedtime and again when it’s time to start a new day. The dark side of heaven is filled with stars and very dark greyness. The nights are bluish cold with nothing but a tiny orange moon to light the sky. Inhabitants walk around with picks and canes, as though mining for gold, and perhaps they are because on the bright side of heaven, the streets are paved with gold. On the light side, there are deep ravines and so many flowers you couldn’t detect all the colors—colors you never saw before sprinkled throughout grassy meadows and along green and purple treetops. There’s a rainbow- colored river that runs quicksilver through a glistening meadow and a river that circles backwards and upwards through the hills, sparkling and whistling along the way. On the dark side of heaven, this same river flows, but only in circles. Watching it circle around and around is a dizzying experience, so those on the dark side of heaven avoid it except when they can’t fall asleep.] ----(To be continued...)