Mitch Albom's Premise: 5 People You Meet in Heaven-Ponder This: Who Would Be Your 5?

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s a thread that’s been done probably hundreds of times before (with famous or historical figures), but here’s the twist:

In (radio host & author of “Tuesdays with Morrie”) Mitch Albom’s new book entitled “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” the reader is taken on a surreal journey through the passing the an unaccomplished amusement park ride mechanic. Upon his accidental death, the main character discovers heaven is not a utopian Garden of Eden – but rather a place where you meet the 5 people who had the most direct effect on your life.

The departed 83 year-old widower, named Eddy, meets 5 people in his afterlife whom he never would have imagined meant much to him during his time on earth. After meeting the fifth person, he discovers his life did have value and comes to learn people are all interconnected in some way or another.

I’ll be the first to admit I rarely read non-fiction. But when I come across something that will cause me to reflect on my life, I’ll devour it.

I’ve given some thought to Albom’s premise and quite frankly; I’m at a loss. If I were to die tomorrow, I can honestly state I can’t think of 1 (let alone 5) departed individuals who have had a major impact on my life. Granted, there have been countless people (some who have passed, some I’ve lost contact with and others who are still very much alive) that I’ve admired and learned from - but not to the extent that I could definitively say altered my life in any ground shaking way. The best I could come up with is:[ul]
[li]Mrs. Van Somethin-or-Other: The elderly lady who lived in the downstairs apartment until we moved when I was 4. My memories of her are vague, almost dreamlike. She exemplified a sweetness and kindness that most amongst us could only aspire to. []Fr. Herman Peter Jacob Schraam: The Episcopalian priest from the Fisherman’s Church down the block from where I grew up. Though labeled a sot by some of the puritans in town, he taught me life is for living – to be enjoyed and made the most of. Contrary to his craft, he showed me spirituality wasn’t taught from a book or handed down from on high – that it was something unique to each individual soul.[]John Held – I can’t believe it’ll be 15 years since he died in a motorcycle accident. We were just kids, not even 22. Though I hate to admit this, his dying taught me more than all my living friends have combined. I guess tragedy’s only asset is its ability to teach.Ms. Schwartz – My 8th grade English teacher who I can only hope and assume is still very much alive. She taught me more than any teacher I had before or since. It’s rare to find an educator who showed the interest and concern she did, in a style that could only be defined as “I’ll show you the basics & leave the rest for you to discover.”[/ul][/li]
Talk about your brick walls. Four was the best I could muster without stretching. I’m fortunate as to have never lost a past love or close relative. The 3 grandparents I’ve known my whole life are getting older, but are all still here. Even if they weren’t, I seriously doubt they’d make my list. As callous as that sounds, I really don’t consider my relationship with any of them all that pivotal in the grand scheme of things. My kids, of course, have had the greatest effect on my life. I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of losing them – for that, in and of itself, would kill me.

As I wrote this, a nagging thought kept going through my mind. It might appear these thoughts are a little too private – something to blog, not post to a message board in the form of a poll. I have, however, posed this same question to several friends who’ve offered some unique perspectives. Surprisingly, almost all of them had the same difficulty in coming up with five individuals for this fictional premise.
Please note: I used the word fictional because that is what it is. If you feel a need to opine on religion, spirituality or the afterlife – there are probably other threads and forums in which to do so.

I guess the one thing anyone who gives serious thought the question: Which 5 deceased individuals have most affected you life will, at a minimum, have a chance to reflect on what is good in life. Those who continually ponder the thought might see how they themselves have had an effect on others. In either case, it can’t hurt.

2

I can only come up with ONE deceased person: Robert A. Heinlein. Although I remain a liberal, he probably influenced much of my thinking more than anyone else.

Still alive are my mother, father, and two brothers. These four, especially the younger of my two brothers (but older than I am) truly formed virtually every aspect of my character of which I am aware. I’m forty-seven now, and I see more of each of my parents in me with each passing year, although skewed so oddly as to leave me nothing like either when taken as a whole.

How much is nature and how much nurture? Ya gotta wonder!

3

Ah, remembered another. Jane Austen had an enormous effect on my life, I suspect, by teaching me just how idiotic those who deceive themselves appear. This led to a life-long terror of self-bullshit.

4

Nicely enough, most of the people I would like to meet in heaven are still alive. I’ll see if I can think of five who are not alive, though.
[list]
[li]Joscelyn Green was a girl in my elemetary school class. She was absolutely a sweetheart, and she died of leukemia in the second or third grade. I suppose what she taught me was that you can have joy in every circumstance.[/li][li]My grandmother and grandfather. I think this one speaks for itself. I wouldn’t be who I am without them; they affected me (for the better) in every way.[/li]
Well, I guess that’s three. My second grade and fifth grade teachers are still alive; they would be my other two if they were not. Both of them inspired in me a love of learning and never let me reject something without trying it first.

5

Dang. Stupid coding.

6

I read “Tuesdays with Morrie” – very good book.
Now, on to the philosophical question.

Since I haven’t read the new book, I don’t know what premises and assumptions are used to create the story.

Example 1:

Perhaps, in heaven, time is meaningless – in other words, when you arrive in heaven, everyone else is in heaven also, whether they died a thousand years before you or a thousand years after. This opens up the possibilities of people you have influenced immensely. ( Children, parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.) Finding five people from this group for whom you have had a positive impact should be no problem, whether you ever realized it or not.

This same time lapse situation holds if you believe in an eventual day of judgment when all souls deserving will be received into heaven.

Example 2:

Forget the time thing, and just look at those already dead who you might have influenced. Perhaps back in 9th grade there was one kid that always wished they were as smart as you…. perhaps they pushed themselves trying to compete with you, but you never knew it – you were just being yourself. Because of a heightened academic drive, that person is now a research physician working on cures for cancer.

This scenario holds for someone who might have admired your looks, your athletic ability, your generosity, your attitude…… and these people could be neighbors, friends, relatives, church members, classmates, etc.

Example 3:

Since it was mentioned that the character in the book was surprised by the revelation that he had been an influence on some of the lives, lets explore the whole fate vs. destiny vs. coincidence vs. sheer dumb luck, scenario.

There’s a waitress who’s always enjoyed the restaurant life – she is having the absolute worse day of her working life as a waitress and has resolved to tell her boss that she’s quitting at the end of her shift. You sit down, are very polite, engage in some easy conversation with her, and let her bend your ear a while. She’s friendly and prompt so you leave her a nice tip and a note saying what a pleasure she made of your dining experience. (A rather simple gesture.) The waitress feels a lot better, and decides quitting would be rash; a few months later she is given the opportunity to become restaurant manager; from there part owner, and today owns several successful restaurants. (And the two of you never even knew each other’s names.)
Or, you politely allow an individual to go ahead of you through the checkout line because they only have a few items. They hop in their car and head home. Arriving home, they discover their oldest child engrossed in a video game, and spy the youngest thrashing in the pool; she had just fallen in – 5 minutes standing in a checkout line would have cost the child’s life.
It’s impossible to track these kinds of things, but the point is that everything we do has some effect on someone or something, and we usually never know the extent of the effects

And that is my $.02

7

I read “Tuesdays with Morrie” – very good book.
Now, on to the philosophical question.

Since I haven’t read the new book, I don’t know what premises and assumptions are used to create the story.

Example 1:

Perhaps, in heaven, time is meaningless – in other words, when you arrive in heaven, everyone else is in heaven also, whether they died a thousand years before you or a thousand years after. This opens up the possibilities of people you have influenced immensely. ( Children, parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.) Finding five people from this group for whom you have had a positive impact should be no problem, whether you ever realized it or not.

This same time lapse situation holds if you believe in an eventual day of judgment when all souls deserving will be received into heaven.

Example 2:

Forget the time thing, and just look at those already dead who you might have influenced. Perhaps back in 9th grade there was one kid that always wished they were as smart as you…. perhaps they pushed themselves trying to compete with you, but you never knew it – you were just being yourself. Because of a heightened academic drive, that person is now a research physician working on cures for cancer.

This scenario holds for someone who might have admired your looks, your athletic ability, your generosity, your attitude…… and these people could be neighbors, friends, relatives, church members, classmates, etc.

Example 3:

Since it was mentioned that the character in the book was surprised by the revelation that he had been an influence on some of the lives, lets explore the whole fate vs. destiny vs. coincidence vs. sheer dumb luck, scenario.

There’s a waitress who’s always enjoyed the restaurant life – she is having the absolute worse day of her working life as a waitress and has resolved to tell her boss that she’s quitting at the end of her shift. You sit down, are very polite, engage in some easy conversation with her, and let her bend your ear a while. She’s friendly and prompt so you leave her a nice tip and a note saying what a pleasure she made of your dining experience. (A rather simple gesture.) The waitress feels a lot better, and decides quitting would be rash; a few months later she is given the opportunity to become restaurant manager; from there part owner, and today owns several successful restaurants. (And the two of you never even knew each other’s names.)
Or, you politely allow an individual to go ahead of you through the checkout line because they only have a few items. They hop in their car and head home. Arriving home, they discover their oldest child engrossed in a video game, and spy the youngest thrashing in the pool; she had just fallen in – 5 minutes standing in a checkout line would have cost the child’s life.
It’s impossible to track these kinds of things, but the point is that everything we do has some effect on someone or something, and we usually never know the extent of the effects

And that is my $.02

8

Okay, but I don’t understand…

If heaven is made up of five people who influenced you the most, what if you didn’t particularly influence them? Does that mean they can’t actually see or interact with you, but you can see them? Can you see the people that influenced THEIR lives? THere are many holes in this plot…