Your personal hell...?

[jcook922]

Switching gears from something I touched on in another thread... What, to you, is your personal hell or heaven? What if it's in the eye of the beholder?

A world with no challenges, conflict, or competition, is my personal hell. Our world here and now, where things are changing and we affect the world around us, is pretty close to my idea of heaven... Of course if heaven is perfect, every ambition of mine would have to work out perfectly for it to be heaven, I'll settle for what I have in the real world for now.

 

[jayem]

Hell is a place where the cops are German, the drivers are French, and the cooks are English. ---Anonymous


(and by corollary, heaven is a place where the cops are English, the drivers are German, and the cooks are French.)

 

[keith99]

Switching gears from something I touched on in another thread... What, to you, is your personal hell or heaven? What if it's in the eye of the beholder?

A world with no challenges, conflict, or competition, is my personal hell. Our world here and now, where things are changing and we affect the world around us, is pretty close to my idea of heaven... Of course if heaven is perfect, every ambition of mine would have to work out perfectly for it to be heaven, I'll settle for what I have in the real world for now.

Wow. 2 lead ins to old (and very very good) Science Fiction TV episodes.

"The Eye of the Beholder" was about a society where everyone was beautiful. Well almost everyone. It foolowed on of the few unfortunates who was ugly. We saw her in bandages after the last possible operation. We saw them being unwraped while she holds a mirror, we see the mirror drop and her scream and run.

She is caught and banashed to a colony, ratherlike a the old lepar colonies and someone from the colony comes to pick her us.

We see them, she is a goddess and he is a greek god! The beautiful ones don't just have pig snouts, the bend off to one side. Ugly land for me.

The other echos your hell. A petty thief holds up a store and runs down an alley and starts to climf a chain link gate. He does not make it. Fade to black. He wakes up to find Sebastion Cabot standing next to him is a whiter than white suit. Cabot explains that he is dead and this petty theif goes to hsi reward. He gets everything he wants. He wins at poker every hand, he has all the broads (his term) he wants. Same for everything. Soon he tires of this, it is driving him mad. He then brings up the idea he is in the wrong place. They check his records which are truely disgusting. He says 'see I don't belong in Heaven. The reply is 'Heaven who said anything about heaven'. Cabot has a nasty laugh.

My idea of Heaven would be a slightly nicer version of the Norse. Battle every day and then party for everyone each night, including those who fell. OK I'll change to Rugby match and also go with variety. A hike, a bike ride, just gardening. But real things to do and accomplishments are needed. But gross pain and suffering removed.

 

[gwenmead]

I don't know. I don't think about heaven or hell much these days. The concepts just sort of don't fit into my personal paradigm anymore.

But I suppose a personal paradise would have to involve lots of white sand beaches, palm trees, warm ocean water, Dungeness crab...

I'm not sure what hell would be. But nowadays on the rare occasions when someone asks me what kind of ultimate vengeance I'd wish on an adversary, my wish is always that they might somehow receive instant, undeniable, total self-awareness. I'd want them to know exactly who they are, into their very bones, and be unable to sublimate or deny the things they dread knowing about themselves.

Could be interesting.

 

[keith99]

Oops, Hell. I gave heaven.

Several ideas come to mind. The ultimate boredom ranks high. Many of the Heavens put forward have that. Spending eternity worshiping a vain God sure fits. (On the other hand being an angel working with a rather similar God to help others and getting to see the results might be pretty cool).

On the suffering end I have one. When I have dark dreams it is almost always fleeing some overpowering and evil force. A flight that it is clear will not be totall y successful. Often I am unable to continue, usually it is my knee, which in fact is acting up right now. But that alone is not Hell. Deciding I am doomed and turning to fight at a narrow point on a path or a bridge is not hell. Even dying is not hell. Hell is turning to fight and before dying realizing I was not able to buy enough time with my death to save the friends who were with me, played over and over.

Oh and turning to fight and knowing I did buy enough time is pretty close to heaven. Or at least a contented death.

 

[jcook922]

I think a horrible version of hell for me would just be being... alone. Think of a spotlight hanging from an unseen ceiling providing a small halo of light with a chair, and eternal blackness in every direction. Do you stay in the light or wander into the dark, eternally hoping to find something?

 

[gwenmead]

I think a horrible version of hell for me would just be being... alone. Think of a spotlight hanging from an unseen ceiling providing a small halo of light with a chair, and eternal blackness in every direction. Do you stay in the light or wander into the dark, eternally hoping to find something?

Heh. I'd probably try to climb the wire from the spotlight, to see what was up there...

 

[Beanieboy]

When I am bored, like when I am on the Subway, I play my own game called, Hell Tycoon. Basically you get to build your own hell, and then people come there to live out their eternity. For example, you climb into a boat, and soon your go through a tunnel, and are in Disney World. The Little kids come out singing, "It's a small world aaaaafter all.." only the ride NEVER ends. It starts to hit them after they have been in there for 15 minutes with no end in sight.

Another would be lauched into space, and hear the theme from Star Trek, but that be the only song that you can listen to forever.

My personal hell is sitting next to teenage girls.
"Like, so, I was all, at the mallerwhatever, with like, this guy, Jefferwhater, who is totally, like this, hottie, hello?
"Seeeeeriously. Om g like, he is so loving you! Can I just say: He's a totally cutie."
"Seriously! Clue phone: Helleeew? He's a hottie? Seeeriously. Thanks for callling. O mg, I'm sooooo crazy. i think i going to change the spelling of my name to have a silent P: Pterry, like terridactlerwhater. Likes?
"Chyah! Could that be anyone now? I think I'm going to stick with Kelli with an I. O mg, these fries are soooo good. You know (sniffles), if I didn't have my friends, I don't know what I'd do."
"Ahhhhhh, Sweetie. I love you, too. You're my BFFerwhatever."

My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

 

[Beanieboy]

What I think hell would really be like is not so much "darkness" or torture, but grayness, absence of life. Think Chicago on a cold overcast day on a Sunday with nothing to do, and nothing on TV.

However, I don't beiieve in a permanent hell. I think there is a hell that purifies by fire, whatever that means. It simply rings true in my heart.

 

[OphidiaPhile]

My personal hell is almost anywhere in the midwest.

If the main music you hear is country or rap, that is hell.

If I cannot drive down the street and get good sushi, Thai, Mexican, French, Indian or Peruvian cuisines, a big selection of Belgian and micro-brewed beers or a big selection of cheeses that is hell.

If there are no Michelin rated restaurants around, that is hell.

If they get snow in the winter or humidity in the summer, that is hell.

If it takes me more than an hour to get to the ocean, that is hell.

If there is not an orchestra in town, that is hell.

If there is not an art museum in town, that is hell.

If it is illegal to keep and breed snakes, that is hell.

 

[WatersMoon110]

Hell is other people? *wink*

I mean, I would call some of the worst times of my life "my personal hell". For me, that is what it felt like. But I don't know that I believe in an torturous afterlife full of fire and brimstone, and I don't really need some sort of threat to convince me to try to be as good a person as I can be.

But, for fun, I would say that my version of "hell" would be a version of "heaven" once given to me by a 14 year old Fundamentalist Christian girl: You just sit around all day, worshiping God.
I always thought that sounded horribly dull. *shrug*

 

[BlackSabb]

Switching gears from something I touched on in another thread... What, to you, is your personal hell or heaven? What if it's in the eye of the beholder?

A world with no challenges, conflict, or competition, is my personal hell. Our world here and now, where things are changing and we affect the world around us, is pretty close to my idea of heaven... Of course if heaven is perfect, every ambition of mine would have to work out perfectly for it to be heaven, I'll settle for what I have in the real world for now.

Hmmm....let's see. My personal heaven. I have a sprawling mansion by the harbourside, with a magnificent garden and amusements like huge indoor and outdoor pools, a bowling alley, tennis and squash courts, a rifle range etc. I have a 10 car garage filled with Rolls Royces, Mercedes, Ferraris etc. There's a couple of power boats docked in the jetty, a small one and a large one the size of a house. There's also a hanger with small planes and big planes, that I can fly to all sort of magical places around the world. And a helicopter too. Everyday, I am treated to a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner where I can eat and drink as much as I want without ever getting sick or fat. And I am surrounded by dear friends and family, and everyday we eat, drink, play games, drive in cars, ride in boats, fly in planes and have as much fun as we can.

Ooh. And there's a forest and open plains and mountain ranges adjoining my mansion. And I can play all sorts of war games with rifles, machine guns, hand guns, bazookas etc. Plus real battle tanks, fighter planes, battle ships, submarines etc. Of course you can't ever get injured or killed, but you get to play with all the weapons and fire all the arsenal. The shells, bullets, missiles etc could all be holographically generated that registers a successful strike. Sooo.......much fun.

And there are carnivals and festivals everywhere on the planet. Ooh, and in an instant, you can have any talent of skill you desire, sort of like downloading it.

So for eg, I can take my friends with me in our Ferraris and Porsches to the next village where's there's going to be a huge rock concert with 100,000 people. And I can instantly be programmed to be a brilliant rock guitarist. And I get to play all my favourite Zeppelin, Sabbath etc songs with all the skills of Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi etc. The next night I can be the drummer playing like John Bonham.

How does that all sound to you?

 

[sidhe]

"This bronze. Yes, now's the moment; I'm looking at this thing on the mantelpiece, and I understand that I'm in hell. I tell you everything's been thought out beforehand. They knew I'd be standing at the fireplace stroking this thing of bronze, with all those eyes intent upon me. Devouring me. What? Only two of you? I thought there were more; many more. So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember we were all told about the fire and the brimstone, the red hot pokers, the 'burning marl.' Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is other people!" - Jean-Paul Sartre

Give me people I can't get along with yet need approval from to justify my existence, people I can get along with whose approval would be worthless, an ugly bronze sculpture, and a loud ticking clock, and you have my hell.

 

[jcook922]

I'd have to say heaven for me would be Valhalla. An eternal battlefield where you feel all the pain of combat, and can be killed or maimed daily, but at the end of the day you are restored, all is well, and then you party and do it all over again. Only instead of norse gods with hammers, I'd prefer modern warfare. Never take a hammer to a gunfight.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

When I think hell, I think of an afterlife without friends, family, ancestors, etc.

 

[sidhe]

My alternate hell would be an unending Georgia August, in a room without air conditioning and no windows, with a loud ticking clock, and 24 hours of televangelists on a TV that I can't turn off.

Heaven is the Isles in winter, in a small village, with a pot of tea and scones with cream.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

My alternate hell would be an unending Georgia August, in a room without air conditioning and no windows, with a loud ticking clock, and 24 hours of televangelists on a TV that I can't turn off.

Heaven is the Isles in winter, in a small village, with a pot of tea and scones with cream.

Yes, except add some fall in there for me will ya and I'll agree 100%. I need my totems there too and make it a restful place. Like the good part of Hel was.

 

[sidhe]

Yes, except add some fall in there for me will ya and I'll agree 100%. I need my totems there too and make it a restful place. Like the good part of Hel was.

I'd need a cottage. With a garden. And places for ravens to make nests.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

I'd need a cottage. With a garden. And places for ravens to make nests.

Ooh me too and fjords. I need fjords.

 

[sidhe]

Ooh me too and fjords. I need fjords.

I want cliffs overlooking the sea where I can watch the waves crash below me.