Terrible puns aside, this post will have me exploring how I would like the living to deal with my own remains.
What you take into the grave is ultimately the choice of the living. This became apparent to me at an early age, when I discovered that the little sticker on the edge of my care card meant that I wished for my organs to be donated to a hospital in the case of an accidental death. I wasn't appalled at the idea of donating my own organs, rather that my parents had made the decision for me without consulting me first.
Anyways, upon my death, I would like a burial. I have thought about other methods including cremation, sunk into the ocean, even being left to rot on a pike. In this post I will briefly explain my thoughts these methods, and why I ultimately chose a burial.
Cremation:
I find this a very intriguing way to deal with a body. The idea that you can have your remains spread in locations you strongly associate with is very tempting. Recently there have been several innovations in how one can choose to dispose of ashes, including launching them into space. An example follows.
Five years before his death, my Godfather requested that he be cremated, then have his remains turned into shotgun shells. At his funeral they were distributed among the attendees who were directed to fire them at a location they strongly connect with him. I still have one sitting on my desk; I'll deal with it some day.
I think the biggest draw to cremation is that your "essence," represented by your ashes, is free to flow where ever without restrictions of a grave. It also allows for multiple people to dispose of an individual as they see fit.
Naval Burial:
I find they idea of my body floating endless in the ocean whilst being nibbled upon by fishes to be a bit frightening. However, if I could have an entire casket launched into space, that would be an entirely different story.
Left on a Pike to rot:
I'm not certain if this is even legal, but I find this an interesting way to be disposed of regardless. Like cremation, my "essence" (via the consumption by carrion) would be distributed throughout the world.
Burial:
While I don't affiliate myself with any religion, growing up in a small rural towns has conditioned me to strongly associate death with creepy graveyards, mourning, and most importantly, permanence. This is ultimately why I rejected the above funerary methods.
Once you are dead, you are dead. You no longer have influence upon the world. If you are cremated, or left at sea, there is no way that future generations can even know you existed. Being irreligious, I believe that once you pass, the only thing that happens too your being is nothing. You are dead; it's over.
A burial at least allows for you to make a permanent mark on the landscape. That is my general train of thought on death, which is a bit depressing.
"If you just want a permanent monument, why not be cremated then have your ashes buried?!"
The usual response for this is religious; God(s) has troubles resurrecting a corpse if it isn't intact. My reasoning is that some day, in the very far distant future, we could potentially gain the ability to reanimate corpses. Being a pile of ashes would likely make this difficult.
Being a fan of pop culture, I like to believe that this potential reanimation of corpses will come in the form of a Zombie apocalypse.
This is something I'd like to participate in.
Besides participation the apocalypse, a burial would also allow for the inclusion of grave goods. I think it would be great to be buried with a 12'' of "Live after Death," some ramen noodles, and one of Robert Jordan's books. Perhaps I would include some video-games, probably Zelda, Age of Empires or Final Fantasy IV.
For clothing, I'd want a suit, though with a kilt. Suits are traditional, and kilts are great.
I guess the fact that I'm thinking about including grave goods in my burial means that I believe there is something beyond death. Or at least consider it.
Anyways, thus ends a overly long, rambley and pessimistic blog post.
Ciao.
What you take into the grave is ultimately the choice of the living. This became apparent to me at an early age, when I discovered that the little sticker on the edge of my care card meant that I wished for my organs to be donated to a hospital in the case of an accidental death. I wasn't appalled at the idea of donating my own organs, rather that my parents had made the decision for me without consulting me first.
Anyways, upon my death, I would like a burial. I have thought about other methods including cremation, sunk into the ocean, even being left to rot on a pike. In this post I will briefly explain my thoughts these methods, and why I ultimately chose a burial.
Cremation:
I find this a very intriguing way to deal with a body. The idea that you can have your remains spread in locations you strongly associate with is very tempting. Recently there have been several innovations in how one can choose to dispose of ashes, including launching them into space. An example follows.
Five years before his death, my Godfather requested that he be cremated, then have his remains turned into shotgun shells. At his funeral they were distributed among the attendees who were directed to fire them at a location they strongly connect with him. I still have one sitting on my desk; I'll deal with it some day.
I think the biggest draw to cremation is that your "essence," represented by your ashes, is free to flow where ever without restrictions of a grave. It also allows for multiple people to dispose of an individual as they see fit.
Naval Burial:
I find they idea of my body floating endless in the ocean whilst being nibbled upon by fishes to be a bit frightening. However, if I could have an entire casket launched into space, that would be an entirely different story.
I'm not certain if this is even legal, but I find this an interesting way to be disposed of regardless. Like cremation, my "essence" (via the consumption by carrion) would be distributed throughout the world.
Burial:
While I don't affiliate myself with any religion, growing up in a small rural towns has conditioned me to strongly associate death with creepy graveyards, mourning, and most importantly, permanence. This is ultimately why I rejected the above funerary methods.
Once you are dead, you are dead. You no longer have influence upon the world. If you are cremated, or left at sea, there is no way that future generations can even know you existed. Being irreligious, I believe that once you pass, the only thing that happens too your being is nothing. You are dead; it's over.
A burial at least allows for you to make a permanent mark on the landscape. That is my general train of thought on death, which is a bit depressing.
"If you just want a permanent monument, why not be cremated then have your ashes buried?!"
The usual response for this is religious; God(s) has troubles resurrecting a corpse if it isn't intact. My reasoning is that some day, in the very far distant future, we could potentially gain the ability to reanimate corpses. Being a pile of ashes would likely make this difficult.
Being a fan of pop culture, I like to believe that this potential reanimation of corpses will come in the form of a Zombie apocalypse.
This is something I'd like to participate in.
Besides participation the apocalypse, a burial would also allow for the inclusion of grave goods. I think it would be great to be buried with a 12'' of "Live after Death," some ramen noodles, and one of Robert Jordan's books. Perhaps I would include some video-games, probably Zelda, Age of Empires or Final Fantasy IV.
For clothing, I'd want a suit, though with a kilt. Suits are traditional, and kilts are great.
I guess the fact that I'm thinking about including grave goods in my burial means that I believe there is something beyond death. Or at least consider it.
Anyways, thus ends a overly long, rambley and pessimistic blog post.
Ciao.
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