Heaven

The belief in an afterlife is part of every religion I know of. Either as a perfect place or a perfect plane of being...

Each religion's afterlife is different, though. Valhalla, for instance, the Hall of the Slain in Norse mythology, is a place where dead warriors await the final battle of Ragnarök. This is like the Greco-Roman Elysium, the land of eternal spring set aside for the offspring of the gods. The Egyptians had their paradise of reeds; and the Christians, our Paradise of clouds.

I'm sure there are as many concepts of heaven as there are people. When I was 15, my friend and I decided heaven was an endless ski slope...broken only by the occasional chateau-dotted valley or hot chocolate-serving ski lodge.

My heaven, now, would be a place of neverending ease. A beautiful paradise containing every clime and weather. With no borders. No money or time...no deadlines. Where you can spend every day with your friends and family, whiling the time away playing card games or reading a book...or celebrating Christmas.