Five people you meet in heaven

The End

"This the story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”

This is the “start” of the book The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom. I completed this sometime last week and it was a fast read. A couple of hundred pages with a really large font. The central theme of this book is that we all, during our lifetime, come across 5 people who have had a deep impact in our life. The best part is that we do not know the essence and the importance of these people while we are ‘busy’ being alive and hence the need to go to heaven for the ultimate moment of truth.

These five people might have done something which totally changed the way we behave, act and feel. These five people might have said something which totally changed the way we think and maybe these five people also have lost their own lives to make sure that we live on. This book delves into the psychology of what we get to learn after we die. It is about making us realize that no matter what we sow in this life, we will always have to reap its fruits in the next life. It tells us that there were people who actually loved us a lot even though we hated them. It tells us that life is maze and we do not understand most of it while we are a part of it. The irony is that it takes death to understand what life was all about.

Although a work of absolute fiction, this book still makes me think about the entire concept of life after death. We will either enjoy the bliss of heaven or burn in the fire of hell depending on our deeds. So, I still wonder if the end of one life is really the beginning of the next life. We just don’t know it right now. But are we ready to lead our entire present life being an extremely pious and righteous person to ensure that we get to lead a comfortable life after this one? Are we ready to sacrifice a lot, and a lot more in anticipation of a life which we do not know about? Are we ready to give up our present, which exists, for a future which may not exist? Are we ready to give up our body, which we can see touch and feel for a soul which is only an abstract?

I am not too sure if I have an answer to these questions. I am also not too sure if I believe in the life after death. But what I am sure is that I am not totally wasting today for a tomorrow which might not be. I am not wasting something which I need today to get something which I might not need or I might not have tomorrow. The returns may be high tomorrow but the risk today is also very high and according to my appetite, I would rather play safe today.

Given an opportunity I will be more than glad to meet my set of 5 people in heaven but be rest assured I will be not be regretting anything (like Eddie) because I know that I have made a conscious decision to do what I feel is the best for me right now.