Dead on a gurney

Picture yourself lying dead on a gurney. Look at your lifeless face. See others looking down on you. Professional people who see corpses often. Another dead human.

Now think of what you did in your life that had any real meaning. You read a lot of books, but did any of them produce any real change? Your effect on other people, etc.

Here is how I see the real positive change: did you awaken in a real way during your life? In the way that language such as becoming God-centered rather than man-centered suggests?

Did you really get above the dark and silent internal tyranny of your vanity and pride and become able to recognize anything higher than you? Did you recognize your Creator? That is a real development. That is real change. Looking down on that dead face on the gurney one could say something really happened for that person in their life. A real change.

Such things as recognize original sin in oneself. And active sin. The need for a mediator between yourself and God. It is not 'normal' to be able to recognize such things.

Let alone did you come to where you could discern and value the difference between self-will and Real Will (or God's will in you)?

At this point the corpse has a half smile.