Thread: What is Your Heaven?

Originally Posted by PhxMJ

I think I understand ya here, however there is danger in living for tomorrow because then you forget about today.

I couldn't agree more. ...When I was in college I worked 2 jobs, both were in the healthcare field and very emotionally intense (working with Alzheimers' patients and taking care of developmentally disabled adults--many of whom had terminal cancer) and always took more than 12 credit hours. Whenever people would ask how I was doing I would always reply, "Oh, I'm stressed, but I'll be happy when x,y,z is over." One day I caught myself saying this and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Living a full life is all about challenges and stress. Those things never go away. I needed to learn to enjoy and appreciate every moment for what it was, because there is never a point in life where everything lines up and complete (sustainable) zen occurs. I started focusing on the small things. For example, a smile. A hug. A beautiful day. Playing with my dog. Taking a hot bath. All those little things that I glossed over because I was so focused on waiting for the bigger and happier parts of life to happen and could only be happy then--what a waste!

Slow down and take note of what is going right in your life. Find the joy in the little things, because all life is nothing more than a series of little things. You don't have to have money to appreciate all the free things in life.

Taking notice of the beauty of nature that surrounds me, especially walking out my front door to the sight of our mountains as the sun rises over them or the sun setting from across the basin and the colors reflected upon them.

Having a glass (or bottle) of wine helps too.

I found this thread very interesting as it tells: Who you are the REAL who ...... Not What you are.

Kimberland said:

When I wake up in the morning
to find the hubby,
still sound asleep,
holding my hand.

Yeah.....tells me about hubby..... a tip of the hat to ya hubby!

Yves said:

A little slice of heaven for me is boating or snorkeling

I’m a water baby too, at one time the ocean became my family !

MJ said:

Climbing into bed on a freshly washed pair of sheets still warm from the dryer!

Climbing in with someone you love....X’s a thousand %
If they also love you.............................X’s a million %
If you become intimate........................X’s a trillion %
Jill said:

Hearing good news - like a medical diagnosis for a loved one that could've gone either way. But nothing sounds sweeter to the ear than the words you'd prayed for.

Yeah.................sometimes it goes the other way.................Enjoy each other !!!

Well I guess I’ll start on what’s MY heaven.... a little background:

As some of you know Barbie and I met on Monday morning and were married that Friday afternoon...Yeah...the 5 th day. I did not touch her during this time....other than kissing... had a lot of kissing. As some of you know I’m kind of a religious guy....such a saint.....uhhhhh yeah besides SHE wouldn’t let me....lol.

She was 5’3” and weighed in at 118 pounds........ I was 5’11” and came in over 2 bills 10lbs. Almost a hundred lbs. more. By this time I was the lead trainer for the gym corporation.....Not much fat on me.

I state this because you need this physical picture to appreciate what I’m going to share.

We flew to Vegas to get married as Cali. had a 3 day blood test and waiting period....We went to Vegas and were married in 5 minutes. Got a honeymoon suite and never left it until we flew back to LA It was hot as hell outside and had a lot of other hell as well, but we never saw it...had everything we wanted in the room......EACH OTHER .

This is MY heaven:
************************************************** **********************************


AFTER-GLOW AND MORE

We had not slept a lot during this week so after ..uhhhh well you know...........

We settled down to get some sleep and this is MY heaven:

Barbie had a habit of pointing at something I had and would say giv’me...it could be my sandwich, coke ...anything I had in my hand and I would give it to her...no questions asked. I would give her the moon ...it didn’t matter.

We were laying in bed ...I was flat on my back and she was beside me....when she said giv’me:

She was pointing at my chest ...OK I said and she climbed on top of me and straddled my stomach with her legs, placing her head by mine on the pillow...with her face snuggled into my neck and chest. Am I too heavy ....can I stay here??? she asks....

Stay.....I say , you can stay a million years.
Heavy ..... You’re not heavy ...... you’re my Barbie.

She then kisses and licks the place where my neck meets my chest

She then breathes deeply several times

I ask her why she did that ?????

She tells me that she wants to go to sleep with my taste in her mouth and my smell in her chest !!!

My eyes overflowed as I pondered this ........I had never heard ANYTHING like this before........

She was a poor sleeper ....well until she met me.............I’m so exciting to be with...l.o.l Yeah I just put women to sleep...some personality huh??

I take the flat of my hands and I barely touch her skin as I stroke her from her shoulders to the back of her thighs and back up again. If my arms get tired I rest one and use the other and trade off.....She goes right to sleep......I stay awake until I know she’s asleep before I go to sleep and then I hold her .....as I ponder what she told me and I think ::::

Heaven isn't NO better then this......No it AIN'T NO better................and I sleep !!!

I've been thinking about this thread a lot as I've had a lot of "heaven" experiences lately, all just about the simplicity of life ....

1) Buddy of mine at softball smokes ... and the smell of smoke makes me nostalgic for fun .. anytime I smell cigarette smoke it makes me think of ball parks, carnivals, poker games, bars, dancing, bowling alleys ... all fun times!!

2) Weather here has been 80's --- driving in the desert, with the top town, no radio, just the hum of a V12 engine behind you and the wind in your face. Pure heaven!!

3) Falling asleep in a nap, on my bed on a Sunday afternoon with the soundtrack of an NFL football game in the background ... pure heaven! (The only negative is knowing the Merkins is kicking my ass that week in Fantasy Football)

4) Standing out in the outfield at softball, all by yourself, just listening to the sounds of laughter, competition, and fun.

Every time I remember that I have been given good health I feel like I'm in heaven!

Clicking into 4th gear at 80mph on the back tire...

Alternatively, knee down at 80mph...

Sitting on the couch with my 3 year old watching Thomas the Tank Engine after he asks me if I want to watch a movie with him (how can you say no to that)

A bottle, or 3, of Italian Amarone with friends talking about politics, sex and religion

Fresh ground French press coffee in the morning with no immediate agenda

A 4 mile run with my 11 year old talking about his day

A Sam Smith nut brown ale at the campfire with friends

Crossing the finish line 2 weeks ago upon completion of the Austin 70.3 Half Ironman

bump.

What's YOUR heaven?

-Russ H.

There are a lot of things that make me happy. But I have noticed that a lot of the things that are purely heavenly moments last for a very short time. I have actually experienced times where I have been thrown into a moment for only a few seconds.

A lot of it is through association and thinking back to a moment in time. I have learned ways to do certain things that will throw me into blissful moments by simply pure association.

For example, one time when I was madly in love with a girl and the moment I found out she was madly in love with me was a blissful and heavenly moment indeed. But there was a song playing in the room. Every time I hear that song I get thrown back to that moment.

When I was younger I used to spend a lot of time at the beach with friends and just hanging out. The smell of sun tan lotion and that feeling at the end of the day when you know you got tons of sun. Today the simple smell of sun tan lotion or spending all day in the sun can bring me back to those blissful moments.

Some other things I find heavenly are when all my kids are playing together and getting along and laughing. I spend a lot of my time breaking up arguments and reprimanding my kids for being mean to each other. I remember one time this summer I was sitting outside in the sun, I could smell coconut sun tan lotion, a certain song began to play on my little radio, and my kids were all playing together. No fighting and they were being fairly quiet. I think I spent all of those 6 minutes sitting there with a smile on my face.

I also noticed MJ's post about smelling smoke. I love the smell of cigars. I love going to the fair and catching a whiff of cigar smoke. I even try to walk through the smoke if they are close by. Love it.

Another heaven ... getting an email from a Fastlane reader who says "his eyes are open" to what is possible. I can't describe the feeling of being responsible for a spark to someone's dream ...

My thought is that a dream that is alive is a dream being lived. A dream that is dead and life becomes suffering.