a best heaven

Which one of us will die first?

In the process of me writing this, and of you reading this, we’ve entered into a strange contract. You’ve committed to reading a string of ideas that will never end, and I’ve committed to writing until I can’t anymore. It’s a strange contract because it, by nature, guarantees that one of us will break it. Not by choice, but by death.

This post is going to start out with an arbitrary question that I’ll write about, continuously updating this page over the course of months, years or decades to form a long, uninterrupted train of thought. Somewhere down the line, I could go on a long tangent that never gets resolved. I could switch topics when the previous one gets boring. And you’ll be there for the ride until one of us goes.

If you go first, you’ll leave mid-sentence. The post will continue growing without you, for an unknowable amount of time, accumulating words you’ll never read and thoughts you’ll never consider. I’ll keep writing to an audience that no longer includes you.

If I go first, this post becomes an entirely different thing. It’ll be like a stopped clock, marking the exact moment I broke our contact. The final entry, hopefully, won’t be planned. It could end with me forgetting or losing my will to write. It could end on a comma, a half-fleshed out idea, or, worst of all, a promise to continue tomorrow. 

Let’s begin.

4.8.25

It’s really only logical that the day comes before the month.

Also, I won’t be issuing any edits to any sections retroactively. Every word is written as is, and will be left that way forever.

The question I’ve been considering is the notion of “a best heaven.” I feel the need to quickly add that this question isn’t at all religious, but it might be best to begin by thinking through a generic religious lens. Heaven is a common religious idea or place which mortal beings like you and I can ascend to after leaving this world. The catch is that it’s accessible only on the condition that, during your time alive, you abided by some set of standards like faith, devotion, diligence, or any other “goodness.” Heaven, consequently, also serves the role as a final place where one’s good deeds are rewarded, in perpetuity, to the highest degree.

What would that look like? What would the best, most eternal reward look like? Again, this question isn’t at all religious so, beyond the above premise, it isn’t central to this very one-way discussion.

Anyway, better posts are coming soon. I’ll be back.