My first day back in Bristol this week saw me standing at my Uncles freshly dug grave. I knew he was ill but I was unfortunately in Japan the day he died and could not return in time to say goodbye. The wind played a melody of memories in my mind as I looked down at the mound of mud. It was peaceful, scenic and above all very calm. A decent resting place.
My mother and I then attended the local village pub for a roast and during that time I got thinking about the people I knew that had passed away this year. Family and friends but especially Jessika, that one is something that I will never understand and the thought of dying in childbirth still seems the cruellest of them all. But it got me thinking about what happens after we die, that eternal question of “Is there life after death?” so here are my thoughts on the matter.
Firstly I have always respected any religion and if they hold any belief that there is an afterlife then it provides a comfort for those who are in the last days of their lives.
There are so many words that define it, many call it heaven, some call it hell but as being a Pagan I do not believe that there is a place where both bad and good go. I personally cannot understand the method or the concept that there is a place where someone is destined to go based on the choice of another.
Yet my main question remains if we all believe in different places in the afterlife then can we possibly meet up in a place that in our own self-consciousness and mortal beliefs does not exist?
So here is a brief explanation of the Summerland’s from Wikipedia
The common portrayal of the Summerland is as a place of rest for souls in between their earthly incarnations. Some believe that after one experiences life to its fullest, and has come to know and understand every aspect and emotion of physical human life (usually after many reincarnations), their deity will allow them to stay in the Summerland for an eternal afterlife, although this belief is not universal amongst Neopagans. Another common element is that the soul has little, if any, recollection of the Summerland once it arrives on the mortal plane again. The Summerland is also envisioned as a place for recollection and reunion with deceased loved ones.
As the name suggests, it is often imagined as a place of beauty and peace, where everything people hold close to their hearts is preserved in its fullest beauty for eternity. It is envisioned as containing wide (possibly eternal) fields of rolling green hills and lush grass. In many ways, this ideology is similar to the Welsh view of Annwn as an afterlife realm. However, the Summerland was also viewed as the place where one goes in the afterlife in traditions of Spiritualism and Theosophy, which is where Wicca got the term itself.
I guess that is about as close as it gets. I’m still a bit sceptical about reincarnation but being Pagan means that, I personally feel, that I am not bound by any book or rule about what happens after I die. I know that I will have a chance of coming back; I know that there are many opportunities for me to come back a better person.
But do I want to come back?
Will I recall memories of the life that I am currently living? Will I yearn more for the people in this life than I will for the new people in my life? Will I compare this new maternal mother to the one I lost years ago? So many unanswered questions but I am currently not in a place to think about that.
I am alive; I am in place where I should be concentrating on the here and now instead of wondering about what it is going to happen when I die. Yet all the people that I have lost this year, no matter what their belief, Christian, Pagan, Muslim and Sikh and Atheist there is one thing I do know.
When we die we do move on, we take the memories with us and we are released from pain. Wherever we go, no matter what the religion as living there is a place where we all have the opportunity to move around freely. A place free from pain, rules and regulations.
We will dance again, we will love again and we will meet again.
This is my Summerland.
Comments
Very thought provoking. I was raised christian, and although I have renounced this religion (and still believe in God), I still question christianity’s take on the after life. I always wonder if the heaven and hell theories are true… And especially since I was diagnosed with a life threatening disease, the thought of death kind of lingers in my mind once in a while. Thanks for sharing and expressing ur thoughts, beliefs, and opinions 🙂
First of all, great looking site you have here and great post too. I would like to keep up with your posts but having problem subscribing to your rss.