My idea of heaven [updated]

Patrick and I were musing last night about what heaven might be like, if it existed. I do hope there's an afterlife that I'll get to spend with him. It seems to me like it would be sad if there were all these souls that would just fade away to nothingness after their mortal time was spent, but maybe that's how it is.

Anyway, I decided that my idea of heaven would be a gorgeous enchanted forest, full of flowers, animals, butterflies, and so forth. There would be oceans too, and mountains, lakes, rivers... but mostly just beautiful green-draped paths and valleys for us to wander through. It would always be a comfortable temperature, just warm enough with some cooling breezes when needed, and I'd know that everyone I loved and cared about was safe and happy. We could go back and see our loved ones whenever we wanted, and of course all our pets over the years would be there, too.

There would be seasons, so we could see spring's blossoms and green sprouts, the ice crystals of winter, the beautiful colors of fall and summer's green glories, but we'd be immune to temperature extremes so we could continue our wanderings without concern for safety. Fruit would be hanging here and there on the trees and shrubs, ripe and delicious. Patrick added that during the night, when we'd sleep, our dreams would take us out among the stars and we'd get to fly through them together. It does sound pretty heavenly to me.

When we were hiking yesterday, I reflected on how my tolerance for having a lot of people around has really dropped over the years. As I get older, I value peace and quiet more and more. Just the sounds of nature, the waves breaking on a beach, calls of birds. I greatly enjoy the companionship of a few select people, but even that I have to space out a bit. I think I'm just naturally a sort of solitary person, although now I include Patrick in my definition of "solitary". Having him around isn't like having "people" with you, you know? It's like having the other half of yourself there, which is to say, being complete. We are so similar in a lot of ways that it really is like we're two sides of the same person.

I poked around on the internet and found some pictures that make me think of what I was imagining when I started trying to dream up heaven. Enjoy!

You see that last picture? The one with all the moss? Apparently that's in the Hoh Rainforest, part of the Olympic National Park on the peninsula. Patrick and I decided just today that we will celebrate our first anniversary on June 30 by staying at Lost Mountain Lodge's Creekside Suite and hiking through the rainforest. We didn't have a honeymoon, so this will serve as both that and an anniversary gift to ourselves.

Heaven, indeed.