The parable.
One day a good man spoke to God and asked him:
God, I would like to know what is heaven and what is hell.
The Lord led him to two doors, opened one and led a good man inside. There was a huge round table, in the middle of which was a huge cup filled with food that smelled very delicious.
A good man felt that his saliva was running out. The people sitting around the table looked hungry and sick. They all seemed to die of hunger. They all had tablespoons with long handles attached to their hands. They could get a cup filled with food and pick up food, but because the handles were too long, they could not bring the spoon to their mouths. The good man was shocked by the appearance of their misfortune. The Lord said, “You have just seen hell.”
The Lord and the good man then went to the other door. God opened it. The scene that the good man saw was identical to the previous one. There was the same huge round table, the same giant bowl, which made his mouth fill with saliva. The people sitting around the table held the same tablespoons with very long pins. Only this time they looked full, happy and immersed in pleasant conversations with each other.
The good man said to God, “I don’t understand.”
“It’s easy,” said the Lord, “they learned to feed each other. Others think only of themselves.
Hell and Heaven are arranged in the same way. The difference is within us.