Recently, over on Quora (which I spend so much time on these days), I saw a question that said something along the lines of "Do atheists look forward to the nothingness after death?" The context was that atheists since they don't believe in the idea of heaven, believe instead in nothingness after death. The answer that had popped up in my feed (written by Andrew Weill) was quite interesting, discussing what his interpretation of the post-death experience is.
What actually caught my eye (no offense to Mr. Weill and his fantastic writing skills) was a lonely comment on the bottom by a Mr. Weigelt, stating that he didn't like the idea of an afterlife, due to the fact he didn't appreciate some aspects of his idea of Heaven. I quote, "I hate the idea of sitting on a cloud and playing the harp for eternity." It's a bit of an odd idea of Heaven, seemingly derived mostly from comic/cartoon portrayals, but it's not that unusual and I'm not judging.
This sat in my head for quite a bit, as in my quest to see it from his point of view, I pondered about what Heaven, in all of its religious glory, really is. And I came across some interesting things as I did so.
Heaven, in the simplest of terms, is one of the two (scratch that, three) locations where the afterlife takes place. In Heaven, all your needs are met, and you never have to suffer. This would mean that if Mr. Weigelt doesn't want to play the harp for eternity, he wouldn't have to, as I suppose that hating something is a form of suffering. It's not that he wouldn't enjoy Heaven because he doesn't enjoy playing the harp, it's that it would be boring.
Which, I guess, is true to a certain extent. With no problems or suffering, it would be quite boring and monotonous after it's all over. I'm not saying that pain and suffering are always good, as there are many people who are suffering more than is necessary. However, like most things, it's good in moderation. As demonstrated on many occasions throughout history, it does things like help you maintain mental flexibility, teaches you important lessons and draws people closer.
Such is the spice of life.
BONUS: I'd probably enjoy it in Mr. Weigelt's Heaven. I'd probably learn something really inappropriate, like "Sit On My Face," by Monty Python. With an eternity to practice, I might as well.
