Welcome back to Paradise,
"Hurricaine" Bertha has now passed off into the Atlantic, and has given the Jersey shore a higher sea level...but with none of the waves associated with a higher ocean. Oh well, thankfully I have access to the beach all year and can catch waves at my leisure. I have used this blog title from the begining, because at first I wanted to promote Long Branch, NJ as my own little slice of paradise. As I have been working to join as many groups as possible that I would fit into, I have found that many of the groups I have joined are involved with the other passion of my life religion. Today I would like to talk about the real meaning of paradise as i see it.
Paradise, at its base, refers to a close proximity to God. That being the case, the opposity is clearly evident...distance from God is the ultimate punnishment a soul can go through. Satan is where he is, because it is the furthest one can get from God's pressance. I would like to examine Earthly proximity to God, and how we can all atleast feel closer to God, if not actually get closer to him. In my own belief system, God is in everything...all there is on Earth and beyond was created by God, and in so being is there fore part of God. I know this sounds very transcendental, but it is the way that I can feel close to God, while being so far away from the actual being. When I look at things as being from God, and therefore part God, it allows me to appreciate the wonderful work our Lord did for us. Every plant and animal has God in them, and therefore communion with the natural world becomes communion with God. I enjoy walking up and down my local beach, thinking about how much effort the Lord put into making the world, and how he did it for US.
Take a break today if you can and really take a look around you, God is everywhere waiting for you to discover him in all his wonderous forms. The natural world is God's disquise, and all you have to do is open your eyes to find him everyday, in just about everything you look at. If closeness to God is truely paradise, then we are all in paradise as long as we open our hearts and minds to the Lord's wonders. And if you are looking to be closer to God, then you should get closer to nature, because God is in the natural world waiting for you to find him. The further we get from this belief, I find, the further we are from paradise, and true happiness. Don't let the distance between yourself and God grow any further than it is...get out there and enjoy what we were given providence over, and get yourself one step closer to Paradise!
Thanks for reading, and I hope I will see you again in Paradise!
JON
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