Heaven [and Hell] is a Place on Earth
My heart hurts.
There’s so much in life we can’t control. There’s so much evil in the world. Sometimes it feels like I’m living in my own personal hell. Maybe I deserve to be surrounded by evil people because of my past karma. Maybe I’m not a good person and I’m just trying to hide behind a mask of spiritual awakening. Or maybe perhaps our perception of the world as good or bad has to do with our mindset at the present moment. Maybe we have a choice in each moment to live in Heaven or Hell, every day, here on Earth.
I came to these thoughts after a particular traumatizing event occurred this past Saturday. There’s been a family of beautiful green and red parrots living in a hollow tree in my front yard for about a year now. Every morning they stick their little heads out the hole in the tree and sing for me. Then they perform a dance and fly around the trees and power lines while happily squawking and shaking their feathers.
Well, I was napping and watching FRIENDS on my couch Saturday afternoon, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I noticed 2 young men outside my window, in my front yard. One was up in the hollow tree, and the other was holding a ladder for him. At first I assumed my neighbor was having the dead tree removed, but then I noticed the man in the tree cutting into the hole where the birds lived, and threading some sort of device through it. Upon further inspection of these young 20-something-year-old guys, I had a bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen. They clearly had no authority trespassing on my lawn, climbing my trees, and absolutely not to do what was about to happen next.
That’s when I saw the black backpack the man in the tree was holding. I watched in utter shock and terror, how with his right hand, this guy reached into the hole in the tree, grabbed one of the precious parrots, and (I’m literally sobbing as I write this), shoved the bird, while squawking loudly and trying to break free, into his backpack.
After screaming bloody murder from my window, I immediately ran downstairs, out my front door, and confronted these bird thieves while calling 911. The man with the backpack told me that parrots were not native to Florida and were a nuisance. He claimed that someone had called and complained about the birds, and asked for them to be removed. My duplex neighbor asked him if he had a permit or some sort of order he could show us, and he and his accomplice quickly ran to their truck and headed west. It was clear to my neighbor and I that these men were not associated with any type of law enforcement or animal control. They were criminals. Trespassers, animal abusers, and thieves. Most likely they are going around Miami stealing all the exotic birds they can find, and selling them on the internet or to pet stores for a hefty profit.
I’ll never forget the screams of that beautiful bird as his life as he knew it was literally ripped away from him and he was thrust into the dark unknown. To me this was pure evil- perhaps the most terrible act I’ve ever seen another human commit in my lifetime. At that moment, I lost all hope in humanity. I felt as though I lived in Hell, surrounded by evil criminals harming my most favorite animal.
I’ve always connected deeply with birds. As a young girl I even thought I was a bird, and would flap my “wings” all around town, school, and home. Their beauty, grace, poise, and delicate power always inspired me. For creatures so small, they possessed so much strength. They are fiercely protective of their offspring, and spend all day and night building a comfortable home and finding food for their families to eat. They sing and dance first thing in the morning, and always appear to be happy and free. It always saddened me to see these beautiful beings stuck behind bars in cages for human delight. What’s more delightful than seeing red, yellow, green, blue, birds of all colors sizes and shapes, performing a natural song and dance routine, from their own homes, in nature? When will humans begin to respect, honor, and cherish ALL beings and the environment? When will we stop sucking nature dry for our own personal gain? When will we learn that we ARE nature, we ARE the universe, and we are ALL connected, all one?
When the police came to take my statement, I felt powerless and small. I felt disconnected from these humans who were more concerned with filing a theft report, asking if the birds belonged to me, than what was actually happening to the birds themselves. Why must we OWN something for it’s life to matter? I felt the weight of all of the issues of the world hanging on my shoulders. All the horrible things I wish I could do something about if only I wasn’t small, weak, alone, and a woman. All my insecurities, all the wrongs I wish I could right, all the times I wish I had done better, came rushing over my mind like a tsunami. I was paralyzed by my own grief. Grief for the fate of the birds, the world, and my own happy life. What did I do to create this reality of evil which now surrounded me?
If we create our own realities based on our actions, beliefs, and thoughts, are we creating our own personal hells even during our lifetime? Maybe hell and heaven are actually places on earth. Maybe in each moment we have the ability to choose where we want to be. Maybe they aren’t separate after all, floating above or below the surface. Maybe they are both here, all the time, separated by a thin sheen of karma?
A Course in Miracles teaches:
“The Kingdom [of God] (aka Heaven or Pure Lands, etc) is something that individuals can enter now, something that is ‘spread out upon the Earth, and men do not see it.’ In this view, to enter the kingdom is to perceive reality so differently that we in effect live in a different world. In this world, the unconditional care of God becomes our experiential reality, and the worldly threats and assaults that once terrified us fade into insignificance. We are released from the crippling self-concern that plagued us before. Anxiety has been replaced by celebration. Now we are carefree, knowing we are cared for.”
In each moment, our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors create the world we see. The energy we put out into the universe returns to us. When we engage in negative or harmful thoughts or actions, we create the momentum for more negative and harmful actions and experiences to occur to us. Upon contemplating these ideas and the horrible actions I just witnessed, I realized that recently I had not been living in alignment with my values. I had been choosing fear, anger, and hurt feelings over love, light, and positivity, therefore creating more negativity and evil to my life. I had created my own living Hell.
When we choose love, practice positivity and radiate light, more positive experiences come our way. We have the ability to choose light or darkness every moment of every day. We don’t need to wait until we die to arrive in Heaven or Hell. They are amongst us in every moment, and we have the ability to decide where we want to live.
After realizing this, and praying for peace, love, and happiness for all beings, a miracle happened. A green and red parrot landed on the hollow tree, and started to sing. Soon, another parrot poked his head out the tree, and joined in on the duet. All hope was not lost. Heaven could be accessed once again by accessing the powers of positivity, love, and peace within myself. You have this power too, to create the world you wish to see. Always choose love, and Heaven will always be yours.
