There has been a ton of news coverage concerning the passing over of young Jahi McMath. I feel great sadness for the family as they have lost a beloved child. Jahi's fate has been cast by her parents and other family members as they try to do the impossible, bring the dead back to life. I do understand the parent's desire to keep her alive at all costs. I have a dear friend who recently went through the same thing...and its a daily struggle for her to move through each day with a sense of purpose knowing that her beloved child is no longer in this world.
Situations like that show a great light on how earth based practitioners and Abrahamic religions view death. Pagans know that death is but a doorway in to another dimension and that it is not an end but is the start of another cycle of birth for that persons soul. Abrahamic religions view death as finite. Once you are dead you go to their afterlife and that's it. You stay there until...whenever your worldview says it ends (if it ever does) Pagans know that the physical body is not THE person but we understand that the soul is THE person and that as long as the soul is intact somewhere (most Pagans believe that souls do not die, they just transition from realm to realm, body to body) then that person is still "alive".
It is sad that no one in the Christian community has stepped forward to help this family move on. It's sad really that the family is given continued hope that Jahi McMath will recover from brain death. It's also sad that no one in the Christian community has pointed out that Jahi McMath is being kept out of the one place her family claims she belongs (heaven) because they are using artificial means to keep her body alive. After all, the mother has stated repeatedly, "as long as I see my daughter's chest moving, no one will be able to convince me she is dead." Even in the Christian faith, they have placed their daughter in limbo. What about the lessons that Jahi would be able to teach with her passing? What lessons are her friends and family NOT getting because Jahi's body is still artificially functioning? Not only has Jahi's body in limbo, but her family is also stuck in their grief too.
Contrast these actions with Pagans. We are not afraid of death or dying. Yes, we do what we can as long as its medically feasible to assist with sustaining life. But we are not afraid to remove those artificial means once it becomes clear that nothing more can be done. We actively carry that person in our hearts and we know that that person's spirit will always be close by to us. We know that the bones, tissues and organs are just a vessel that souls are carried in and like everything in this world, it breaks down and sometimes just cannot be fixed. We understand the limits of medicine and science and work in harmony with them, not against them.
I'm sorry that Jahi McMath is dead. My heart goes out to the family during this most difficult time. I respect their faith that is making them takes these actions. I also wish that they would take a moment and sit down with someone Pagan who could share their perspective with them as well. Maybe it would help...maybe it won't but either way is better than the current situation.
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