Urban Death Project Aims to Rebuild Our Soil by Composting Corpses
I LOVE cemeteries, but I'm not in love with what is done to most corpses, or to what is done beneath the ground. The toxic embalming fluid, the lead coffins, the concrete "tubs" that coffins are put into so that the ground doesn't sink. As the article says, it's NOT good for the earth. And what better way to take care of our earth than to become a part of renewing it by donating our bodies when we no longer need them?
Of course, we'd have to create new ways to memorialize our dead, because I'm sure there will be many who would still wish to do so (including me). Perhaps scattering small name/date stones or putting up a "memorial wall" with names and dates in a special garden around the site would be a good idea.
What's your idea of the perfect burial method? And how would you want to memorialize your dead?
I totally agree with your post. I know my partner and his mom have chosen to be buried in a card board box and to have a tree planted.
ReplyDeleteLovely idea! I wouldn't mind a cardboard box, although I'd honestly prefer to just be put straight into the ground. But I LOVE the tree aspect! :-)
DeleteThe problem is that far too many people are at odds with the death process--not that any of us look forward to it! Still, there a price to be paid when we resist it to the point that we chemically poison and otherwise interfere with the natural processes. Whether a person is religious or not, it's a standard belief that once death occurs the body is an empty shell. So, why fight it? As for the perfect burial, I still like cemeteries with grave markers. But that's the goth in my speaking here. With 7 billion plus people in the world I knows it's not practical.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not practical, and that's why I'm thinking of maybe a wall memorial, like they have for soldiers who die in various wars.
DeleteI've been reading a book of Victorian vampires stories the last few days, and it came to me, as it did to you, how ODD most people, even religious ones, are about corpses. Even if they believe that it's the spirit, not the body, that's important, they just can't stand the body to decay or even look dead! It seems like when it comes down to the wire, most people can't actually separate the body from the person they knew, even if their belief system tells them they should. Interesting, isn't it...
Definitely into natural burial although I'd like to be cremated because being eaten by worms scares me!
ReplyDeleteCremation works as natural, in my book at least, as long as there is no embalming done for some reason beforehand.
DeleteI seriously recommend the Neptune Society if you decide to pre-plan. They aren't cheap, but they're not overly expensive, either, and they are VERY helpful and professional, and give you lots of options. They were fantastic to me when my mom died, and so very helpful and kind when I was feeling lost and sad.
My mum and step dad put a lot of thought into this and I like what they've done to prepare for the worst. They bought burial plots in a woodland, side by side, and will be buried there in wicker coffins when the time comes. A tree will then be planted on the plot. The site is protected, but open to visitors, and a simple small wooden marker placed at their burial sites.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was adamant he wanted cremation, which was fine. He didn't say what he wanted to happen to his ashes and it felt wrong to keep him in the dining room, so we took him to the rather beautiful valley where he grew up (and returned to when he retired), climbed a few fences and found the most beautiful place to leave him where the red kites he loved fly overhead.
For us, I've promised Husband Underfoot a burial - either a woodland one like the parents, or in a cemetery near us that is on the edge of the sea and a rather beautiful wild space. With room for me too. And humanist services all round.
I love your mom's and stepdad's choice, that's wonderful AND romantic! I like yours as well. :-)
DeleteMy mom did the same thing as your dad; she prearranged her cremation and paid for everything in advance, but told me she didn't care what I did with the ashes and left that up to me. I opted to buy her a niche in the cemetery where she lived, down the road from her mother's grave, just like they lived at opposite ends of the same street for the last 15 years. I felt it was poetic justice. :-)
Martin and I haven't decided what we want. I'm working on my will and funeral arrangements now, but I know he will put his off as long as possible, so I guess I'll end up having to do that as well. If so, he doesn't get to choose, does he? ;-)