Is earth our eternal damnation?

I have always wondered about the afterlife, it is intriguing isn’t it? It seems that every monotheistic religion believes in a place of great peace and delight, aka “heaven”. And since there has to be a balance and a form of punishment by the gods of the heavens, there has to be a “hell”. Mind you, some religions do not believe in a hell, Judaism as the forerunner, therefore this theory is only in reference to those religions including the stipulation of a hell. Alright so now comes to the point I constantly wonder about.

How are we supposed to know that the earth and the lives we are in right now is not part of our afterlife? I mean life is a series of trials and tribulations and in the whole scheme of things, it sucks. What if earth is our hell? “life is hell” Don’t you hear people say that all the time? And how can we be positive that this is not true? I still want to believe that there is something waiting for me when I die, it’s a nice idea and it makes people want to be moral so they can reach those “pearly gates”. At times I think earth is our “wrought iron gates of hell”

I would just like some other people’s input on this…

How about life is what we make of it. Heaven or hell is of our choices - good and bad. There are many perspectives on what life is, but one should ignore that and ask themselves who they are and how would they live their life in sincerity. Start with the heart and use the mind to create yourself.

As for an afterlife, well, anything is possible, but why would you be concerned? Live this life to the best of what is within you and if there is another adventure, that would be wonderful, but it shouldn’t keep you from living this life first.

JT