Steve Miller Band, Adolph Hitler and more...

In the Steve Miller song "Jet Airliner", there's a line that may be the single greatest song lyric ever written. He says:

"You know you've got to go through Hell before you get to Heaven."

I've quoted it to friends about 500 times in my life. That's because I have always believed it to be true. In fact, growing up Catholic, we learned about the idea of Purgatory at a very young age.

To me personally, I believe that life actually IS Purgatory. I just refer to it on a daily basis as "Karma".

"What goes around comes around."
"Treat people as you want to be treated."

Regardless of how you say it, or the way you believe it, it all ultimately comes out the same way: You pay for your "sins" here on earth.

The problem is, we all know HORRIBLE people that never seem to get what's coming to them. Or so it would seem. (At least one former employer comes to mind!)

So the best way to rationalize that, is to assume that they will pay for it in another life. And they may very well. I'm not devaluing the concept at all here.

That said, it did get me thinking. I have done my best to live a "good" life. I never did drugs or stole stuff or really did much of anything too over the top. Moreover, it has always seemed that when I've made mistakes, it has always come RIGHT back on me. I have always felt like the king of "Instant Karma".

Today it dawned on me that I believe I'm actually on the other side of all of the "bad juju". Honestly, I think it may have been the drama of expecting that Karma or anticipating the "other shoe to drop" that kept me in the cycle for as long as it did.

Some people do suck. There absolutely is evil in this world. And I think most of us would like to believe that the "Hitlers" of the world are paying with eternal damnation. But reality is we don't KNOW any of this for sure. And regardless, we can't control any of it either way.

My bottom line today is that in all of these revelations (pun intended) that have occurred within me this year, today's was simple...

Moving forward, my time in Purgatory has passed. My Karma has been fulfilled. I've gone through my "Hell". Now it's time to experience MY "Heaven".

I deserve it.