Growing up we get the impression that heaven is a place, somewhere up there in the skies. That’s how catechism makes God sound like a huge bearded man just wafting through the skies, watching us all from heaven. But oce you grow up and start reading and thinking about the bearded guy in the sky, you tend to realise that God is a presence that permeates all of creation. God is One Consciousness, pure creative energy pulsing with love. We are all individual manifestations of this divine energy, so whether we are aware of it or not, we are all holy. We are living temples of the Divine Creative Energy that permeates everything in existence.
Once we realise this simple truth that we are all children of God, and thereby we too have the same divine energy and power, then heaven becomes a reality right where we are. We tend to create heaven when life is lived with good intent and purpose, with the implicit belief that everything will work out for good. Heaven is not a place that exists out of reach, it is right within us. The Kingdom of God is within you, Jesus taught, he wanted us to wake up and realise that what we seek is already within, it has always been within us (Luke 17:21). We tend to create our own reality based on our thoughts, words and deeds.
We were not created to lead a humdrum existence. The very fabric of life is love, and only through love can any meaning and purpose exist in this world. Fill yourself with love and gratitude, watch it multiply and spread out into the world. Even in the littlest of things, the smallest of moments, feel love and gratitude, these positive emotions will open us up to the wonders of existing. Of course, it is not entirely possible to solve all the problems of the world overnight, but with this conscious act of choosing love and gratefulness, we tend to create pockets of heaven right where we are.