Mysterious Monday: What Lies Beyond

This Mysterious Monday is unfortunately brought to you, inspired by the death of a neighbor. The man was not in good health and didn’t take care of himself, so while death is always a shock, it is sometimes buffered by events, as this man’s was. My younger boy and I had seen the man just hours earlier, outside in his motorized wheelchair with one of his house-mates, who is also wheelchair-bound. We’ve known these people less than a year, and the man who passed was not one of the more social ones of the group, but it still brought tears to our eyes. It also made me think of what comes next.

Christians believe you go to Heaven or Hell or possibly Limbo, depending on how good you were in life, if you were baptized, or were a good Christian, etc. Hindus also believe in a Heaven and a Hell, all with varying levels of comfort, depending on how good or bad you were. Buddhists believe in rebirth of the soul—if you were good in your life and did good deeds, you would be reborn in human form with a good family and live a happy life; if you were a bad person and performed evil deeds, you would come back as some form of animal. Wiccans believe in rebirth, as well, with a stint in the Summerland to reflect upon your previous life before your memory is erased and you are returned to Earth.

Now I was raised as a good little Protestant Christian girl, but as we moved a few times and got away from going to church every Sunday, I explored other religions. I really liked the ideas of Buddhism for a time, but then I found Wicca and something of that religion spoke to me. I liked the idea that while my body might die, the essence of myself could live time and time again. I don’t like the idea of not remembering past lives, past loves and past deeds, but perhaps it’s for the best. Past lives are not always pretty lives.

More and more as I get older, and my parents near the end of their mortal lives, at least in this go-around, I wonder about what comes next and hope that, of all of them, Atheists are not right. I don’t want this to be the absolute, final End of it all. I love the idea of the Summerland, with a warm sun on my face and cool breezes to keep me comfortable as I reflect on my former life before moving on to a new one, hopefully having subconsciously learned from my past mistakes.

Photo courtesy of Victor Habbick on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What about you? Do you believe in Heaven or Hell or other lives? Do you just want this life to be over when it’s over? Whatever your beliefs, I hope that your afterlife or your next life are good to you. Blessed be!