My Cosmological Picture

As the first of several posts involving the world's most prevalent religions and mythologies, I'd like to open with a talk about mythological cosmologies, which for these intensive purposes are symbolic pictures representing the structure of the world.  According to Wikipedia:

Mythological cosmologies often depict the world as centered around an axis mundi and delimited by a boundary such as a world ocean, a world serpent, or similar.  In some regions, worldliness (also called carnality) is that which relates to this world as opposed to other worlds or realms.

Above, you see some pictures of several mythological cosmologies.  Today, I'd like to share with you a cosmology that I created.  The purpose of this is twofold.  First, I'm a visual person and I want to examine and be able to explain to myself my view on the makeup of the world and how I relate to it.  Second, I want to share it with you and encourage you to come up with your own personal cosmology.

Imagine before you a cross.  Yes, like the one upon which Jesus died.  This cross is my axis mundi, or central point around and on which the world - physical and spiritual - rests.  Jesus' death upon this cross - and subsequent resurrection - is the reason I am alive today.  My entire life - you might say my world - revolves around this symbol.

Now imagine with me the rest of the picture.  At the base of the cross, a large crown of thorns encircles it, leaving only a small space close to the cross safe for bare feet.  Surrounding the thorns, we see nothing but sinister, black, rolling clouds.  

Many people are tied to the cross with bright red ribbons around their waists.  Almost like a maypole, the people have a range of motion allowing them to travel some distance from the cross.  Quite a few are standing in the crown of thorns, but none of them can stray far enough to be claimed by the dark, cloudy abyss.  

These people are at varying heights on the lower part of the cross.  While there are some in every age group at all different heights, the higher ones are generally older, if you care to notice.

Above the horizontal beam of the cross, people are no longer tied to the cross.  They all have their hands up, move freely about, and appear to be radiantly happy.  In fact, there is almost a golden glow on everyone and everything.

At the very top of the picture, a man sits in a beautiful, ornate, yet comfortable-looking chair.  He has children on his lap, snuggling into His bosom and looking up at Him with rapt adoration.  

Now for the symbolism: of course you already know the cross represents Jesus' death and resurrection.  People are tied to the cross with the red ribbons of Jesus' blood.  The crown of thorns, while retaining the normal reference to the one placed on Jesus' head, also represents the sins and hardships that we undergo while still on this earth.  While people tied to the cross can still tread into the thorny patch, they are held firm from straying into the smoky abyss, or Satan's domain of the Lost.

Below the horizontal beam of the cross, people are at different places in their earthly journey.  Since everyone has a different life span, they are at different ages on their journey up to the divide between physical life and death.  Above the horizontal beam, representative of the River Jordan, people no longer have to be tied to the cross.  There is no danger of them traveling into the world of sin any longer.  They are in heaven, face to face with Jesus, the Man who sits in the chair with children on His lap.

So that's my depiction of how I view my world.  What is yours?