Oh When The Saints.......

It was an odd call we received on our radio show that prompted my thought and interest in heaven or the afterlife.

“Oh when Shane Warne, Oh when Shane Warne, Oh when Shane Warne goes marching in, God has got himself a spinner, Oh when Shane Warne goes marching in”.

In the aftermath and grief our country shared on the passing of a sporting superstar this gentleman had put his thought in prose, in song. Clever too if you look at the link between the tune and the fact it was the anthem to Warne’s favourite footy club St Kilda.

So much is said and discussed when famous people pass. I find it hard to fathom they are suddenly a lifeless vessel laying somewhere such is the extensive media coverage celebrating their stardom.

I am not religious. Church is a rarity. I am not sure I believe in anything or anyone for that matter. Notwithstanding this I do like to consider there is something next. My mind floated through such a nirvana during a meditation later that morning. Is it a place where upon arrival you come in as you left the earth? Same age, same status, same knowledge. Then you just get on with it?

My imagination has one key difference. The incumbent is cleansed of any hate or toxic ideology they have garnered on planet earth. The place I imagine is full of love and the best versions of the people arriving. Of course, for every Shane Warne, Jimi Hendrix and John F Kennedy there are far less complex or well-known souls arriving. People like my brother Jason.

Passing at just 4 years of age over 40 years ago he would have lived a full life in this place. He would have re kindled with family and friends who had struck similar fate. He would experience all a young boy, teen and man would here with us. This makes me smile.

Michael Schur is a celebrated and successful US writer who helped shape Saturday Night Live and the US version of The Office. He wrote a TV series called The Good Place which over its four seasons was nominated for 14 Emmy awards. To steal from Wikipedia its summary is as follows:

The series is centred around an afterlife in which humans are sent to ‘The Good Place’ or ‘The Bad Place’ after death. All humans are assigned a numerical score based on the morality of their conduct in life, and only those with the very highest scores are sent to the Good Place, where they enjoy eternal happiness with their every wish granted, guided by an artificial intelligence named Janet; all others experience an eternity of torture in the Bad Place.

The irony of the show is one of the main characters Eleanor, played by the very funny Kristen Bell, realises she was sent to ‘The Good Place’ for her righteous life by mistake and fun and chaos ensues.

The idea of a Heaven and Hell has always been thrown about. Part of me does hope that only those with pure souls would end up in whatever version of the former exists. Or as I have frame worked ones’ spirit purged upon arrival. What a powerful place. Imagine the energy and love.

Meanwhile back on Earth we have a myriad of problems to consider.

A common saying in times of despair is “People are worse off than me!”. After 2 years of a global pandemic, 2 states battered by rain and devastating floods and an emerging World War overseas it is easy to draw on this analogy to make our minuscule problems seem innocuous.

It is a state of being that is a challenge to uphold. A constant mindset that whatever we are dealing with is nothing compared to those next, around, or across from us.

I discussed this with middle management in my business just recently. When the staff member in question raised the fact that a younger colleague had not showed up for work and then ignored her message on Facebook I chuckled. “Welcome to my world” I exclaimed. Apart from the familiar anecdote I went on to encourage her to lead in a different way when she finally interrogated the absentee. Show love and care first I suggested. Come from a space of peace and curiosity. Ask them are they okay? Is everything alright? Our world is somewhat more fragile in many ways and communication is waning. For a colleague or simply another human being to stop and ask about your welfare before anything else speaks volumes. It is from that pivotal point you can move forward. In this case it may be sympathetic to a situation or if there is no legitimate reason behind the subject’s lack of enthusiasm a firm and friendly reminder about the perils of not showing up to work. Either way a blatant assault or dressing down may overlook a real or bigger issue.

To wind back from the pearly gates or whatever sphere we enter next I am reminded of an incredible process I heard a keynote speaker discuss over 20 years ago. Such was its' impact I can remember his name. Michael Rennie. A very successful business wiz and consultant, Rennie had an entire room imitating ‘Deathbed meditation’, a practice he learned when battling cancer. The concept was to close your eyes and catapult forward to your deathbed. Who was around you? What had your life been like? What regrets did you have? The take-away was to leave the room with an intent to live what you had imagined, banish regret immediately and galvanise those relationships closest to you. Beginning with the end in mind can change what you do today. I often fatigue from the “Live every day like it’s your last” motto but it is hard to ignore those people extracting everything they can from every moment.

There are too many reminders that those moments and days can be pulled from under us.

Live now.