For what we cannot know - what comes after death, existence before birth, the origin and eternal destiny of all - what is the best-case scenerio? If you could define heaven, what would it be?
For me - no heirarchies, no one better than anyone else, no sexism, no racism, all equally educated, equal and all-knowing, everyone fully present with everyone else.
My opinions:
Hope is always for the unseen or unrealized. If it hasn't happened yet, we can hope that it will.
I never thought of the lower east side of heaven (thinking of Queens, Bronx, New York)--the wrong side of the tracks. Is heaven a place where rough edged but good people sit around smokey poker tables and gamble? It seems to me that Sodom was destroyed because of such gaming, so I would assume that gambling (except for bingo) is not allowed in heaven. How did bingo get an exclusion?
Purgatory is not hell, but it is a place where human vices are purged (hence, the name purgatory). So, when all of the sex talk, pee talk, failing heart, failing liver, and other talk is done, one can move on to a higher plane of heaven. It is a plane where discussing bodies (essentially monkey shells for the spirit) are irritating. In heaven, there are better things to contemplate, and most of the souls are of the same mind, and their thoughts are almost verbatim the same, after an eternity of discussing concepts with other souls.
I don't think that they have poker in heaven because there are no dealers (the ones who deal horrible cards that make us lose). There are no lawyers in heaven (so we can't sue). I wonder if we could phone hell to get someone to represent us....someone who understands sin? Maybe, in heaven, we could have a jury of our peers (axe murderers would have a jury of fellow axe murderers).
We can assume that heaven is not for those who sacrifice others (that is greed). Abraham defied God and exhibited greed when he was about to kill his son in order to obey God. Abraham didn't care what happened to his son, as long as he made it into heaven (very greedy, cold, and murderous). Would such people, who defy God's commandment not to kill, make it into heaven? Would heaven be a place worth going if such people made it in? Even if they thought that they were obeying God, heaven would be a hellish place if anyone was allowed in.
Without bodies, there is no sex or race. However, having lived a life, undoubtedly we take some of our ethnicity with us everywhere we go, including heaven. Maybe we would like to taste ethnic food that we miss (the kind that mama used to make), every now and then? I know that we wouldn't have to eat in heaven, but occasionally it might be nice to have the sensation of eating.
Do we remember our past lives in heaven? Or, are we like a cleared blank slate that can't remember our past. How could we get a reward for being good if we can't remember? Is there reincarnation, and could we remember past lives? Do we meet past spouses? What if they remarried many times? Do we meet our kids, grandkids, and great grand kids in heaven? Is heaven lonely? Would other souls communicate with us, or is there a hierarchy in heaven where we are not good enough to talk to the really cool people? Maybe the soul of George Washington is too busy talking to other important souls to talk to us?
Why would every soul have an equal eduacation? Wouldn't it be more interesting to discuss things with experts in many different fields? Are souls all-knowing, or is that just for God? If everyoine is equally present with everyone else, wouldn't that get tiresome? If you are interesting, there would be a crowd of souls trying to communicate with you all the time. Maybe there is no time in heaven?
There seem to be more questions than answers about the unknown.