Afterlife and it's Demanding Thought Process

Over the past few days I couldn’t get the thought of the afterlife out of my head. Throughout each day I was lost in thought on what is to come. Everyone has their own judgment on the afterlife and I have been currently challenging mine. I just finished the quickest read ever, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. This book got me thinking like I’ve never thought before.
Albom creates this idea of when you exceed your time on Earth; you go to his idea of a heaven where you meet five different people. These five different people have significantly crossed paths with you weather you know it or not. After reading this book it made me think critically of my faith. I am a Christian; I wouldn’t say a strong one, but a believing one. My faith is complicated, but books like Albom’s and Mythology by Edith Hamilton have surely contradicted my faith. This book has continued my thought process by showing me different ideas of the heavens. Albom also had every one of the five people teach a lesson to the victim, Eddie. I like how he threw this method in; each lesson was very important and helped him connect the unfinished puzzle called his life. For example, the main character Eddie was in the war some time before his death. During the war, his leg was injured and has affected him ever since. One of Eddie’s five people he met was his Captain during the war. Eddie was confused on why he was meeting him in his heaven, but it all made sense in the end. During a fire, Eddie thought he saw a little girl beyond the flames. His instinct was to run in and save her, however his Captain shot his leg for him being incapable of doing so. The Captain did this in resistance of Eddie going into the fire because the Captain knew he would never come out alive. The Captain taught him the aspect of sacrifice and why it’s so important in life, “It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.” (Albom, 93). I wonder if I will ever learn everything I need to know in life and if I will apply it to the best of my ability.
In conclusion, I have learned to not worry about the future just to live in the now. Just like in World History when we learned about the Epic of Gilgamesh: living in the now, not worrying about the afterlife. Don’t waste time when you should be living.