The problem with heaven is that you will be having such a good time there, you won’t even think of eternity. http://amzn.to/1WqrVVC
Joseph Campbell Book: The power of myth
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Eternity is not a long time, it is now
Joseph Campbell joked that the problem with heaven is simple. You will be having such a good time there that you won’t even think of eternity. Behind the humour is a serious idea. For Campbell, eternity is not an endless stretch of time. Instead, it is a quality of experience that we can touch here and now.
For instance, think about the moments when time seemed to disappear. Deep conversation, a beautiful landscape, music that carries you away. In those moments, you do not check the clock. Psychologists call it flow. Mystics call it presence. Campbell would say you are brushing against eternity, because past and future fade into the background.
Finding eternity in ordinary days
The interesting part is that these moments are rarely planned. They appear when we are fully engaged, not when we are anxiously waiting for them. Therefore, the best strategy is to create conditions. Turn off notifications. Do one thing at a time. Spend time with people and activities that absorb you.
Moreover, work can offer this too. A designer lost in a layout or a programmer solving a hard bug often loses track of hours. That is not just productivity. It is a small taste of eternity inside an ordinary afternoon. For example, many writers say their best pages arrive exactly when they stop watching the clock.
So Campbell’s joke turns into practical advice. Stop treating eternity as a reward for later. Look for it in the quality of your attention today. Heaven, in his view, is less a place you go and more a way you are. That makes it surprisingly available, even on a Monday morning.
