Seven miles to heaven

I once read somewhere that seven is the number of completion. On the seventh try, we get to the grand finale, the thing we have all been waiting for: we finally win the elusive prize. I think that’s all well and good, but what about the time in between? What happens as I am moving from my first try towards the great number seven? How can I even be sure that I will get there?

Thanks to my love of figuring things out, when I have questions like these, I stop and think a bit harder than usual. Growing up, we were always told that we need to work hard, get good jobs, make a decent living and raise wonderful children, then we will have made it, we will have won, creating our own little piece of heaven right here on earth. Well life does not always turn out that way, does it? Sometimes we work hard but do not get the good job. Sometimes we have the job but just cannot make ends meet. Sometimes our children are our worst nightmares. Does this mean that we have failed? Have our seven miles to heaven now become seven hundred more miles to heaven? Are we running an impossible race that we cannot win?

I tend to think not. Sure, sometimes we do not reach our goals and life ambitions. I fall flat on my face more often than I would like to admit. As I have grown (a bit) older, pondering over these questions has led me to a different way of thinking. Maybe we don’t have to get through all seven miles to reach heaven. Maybe all we need to do is live in the moment, focus on the good things we are blessed with every day, even as we work towards the bigger things.

The person who said that the best things in life are free was truly clued-up. Yes we may not have everything, but we have something. I may not have the perfect job, but at least I’m not begging on the streets. I may not have the perfect children or family, but at least we have shared a few moments I can look back on and smile. It’s really not that bad. Sometimes we need to stop focusing on the big thorn that hurts us, lean over just a bit more and smell the beautiful rose. What’s in front of you might be that piece of heaven you have been searching for all along.