Once, the Visionary came to the Inspirer as he was having a hard time about a certain vision.
The Visionary asked, “Have you ever wondered what heaven must be like?”
To this the Inspirer replied, “Yes, when I have not yet known heaven, I wondered of so many things.”
“And now you know heaven?”
“Yes.”
“I am having a difficult time deciphering my visions, I can’t believe you’d get it so clearly. People have wondered about it for ages, wondering what Paradise is like, what we’d all do when we come to heaven. People ask if there’s anything we’d look forward to. People ask if it wouldn’t be such a boring place to be. I don’t know how you have found your answers so easily.”
The Inspirer smiled. “It is because the people have been asking the wrong questions.”
“What’s wrong with these questions?” asked the Visionary.
“For one thing, these questions assume that heaven is bound by time. Heaven is not bound by time. Also, these questions assume only the perfection of external states, like the absence of sickness or hunger or pain. Heaven is first and foremost a perfection of the internal, found only in love.”
“Ah,” and the Visionary was enlightened at last. With love, there is no time, no tomorrows to worry about, no activities to wait for or be bored of. Love exists only in the present moment, and in that present moment, heaven asks no further questions.
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"