Chris and I got to see the “Life of Pi” movie in 3D recently. It’s like a painting coming to life. Beautiful colors and graphics that seem unbelievable. And the story itself is a truly unbelievable tale of a shipwrecked passenger stuck on a lifeboat with a Tiger. I’ve read the book and both are spectacular. And the movie really captures it. If you haven’t read it or seen it – Spoiler Alert.
At the end, he survives this incredible adventure. And no one really believes him. So he tells them a simpler story instead. But, he says, if the outcome is the same in both stories, which story do you prefer?
At the end, he survives this incredible adventure. And no one really believes him. So he tells them a simpler story instead. But, he says, if the outcome is the same in both stories, which story do you prefer?
It got me thinking about heaven. I completely believe in an afterlife. But I’ve never pictured the typical scene where people are reunited with loved ones. I’ve never really believed that I will see my mom again. Kind of depressing. Maybe I’ll die and sense her spirit or a feeling of love in the afterlife, but I never pictured her greeting me, hugging me or loving me again.
But after I saw “Life of Pi” I thought, why not? If it gives me comfort to think that I’ll be greeted in heaven by mom, then that’s what I should believe. It’s the better story. And it doesn’t change any of the outcome. Whether the hereafter is like a movie or not, it will be what it will be. I hope she’s in her bathrobe on a couch, with a book in one hand, a cup of hot coffee nearby, smoking a Parliament.
But after I saw “Life of Pi” I thought, why not? If it gives me comfort to think that I’ll be greeted in heaven by mom, then that’s what I should believe. It’s the better story. And it doesn’t change any of the outcome. Whether the hereafter is like a movie or not, it will be what it will be. I hope she’s in her bathrobe on a couch, with a book in one hand, a cup of hot coffee nearby, smoking a Parliament.
I don’t know if it’s losing my mom so early, having a child with special needs or having been diagnosed with breast cancer. But I see things a little differently now. The bright moments of life are so much brighter. And the dark colors of life are so much darker.
I see young, fresh parents with so much to gain and so much to lose. I see teenage daughters who can’t stand their moms, but don’t know what a gift they have. I see parents whose biggest wish is for their child to be able to move their hands. I see families brought together and torn apart by tragedy.
But you know–we all keep moving. And try to think of a better story. Because if the ending is the same, the better story is the one I want to believe.
I see young, fresh parents with so much to gain and so much to lose. I see teenage daughters who can’t stand their moms, but don’t know what a gift they have. I see parents whose biggest wish is for their child to be able to move their hands. I see families brought together and torn apart by tragedy.
But you know–we all keep moving. And try to think of a better story. Because if the ending is the same, the better story is the one I want to believe.
My poem:
Heaven
Far away
Close at heart
Hoping to see her
Mom
Heaven
Far away
Close at heart
Hoping to see her
Mom
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