If you're like me, you occasionally wonder about where you're going after death. In my case, the open question that I ponder is more about where the body is going than the spirit. There is something magnificent about the Hindu tradition of the funeral pyre. When I watched the film "First Knight," where Sean Connery plays King Arthur, I remember seeing him float away, and having flaming arrows ignite the little raft he was on. As it bursts into flame, I can't help but think "Now that's the way to go!" Especially when I consider the racket that cemeteries have become, and population explosion, and the pressures for land space that entails, I wonder about alternative methods. It turns out that cremation has its drawbacks, too. This article points to some alternatives that are coming into play for consideration.
I especially liked the reference to Emily Dickinson's poem:Death is a Dialogue between The Spirit and the Dust. "Dissolve" says Death --
The Spirit "Sir I have another Trust" --
Death doubts it --
Argues from the Ground --
The Spirit turns away
Just laying off for evidence
An Overcoat of Clay.Recommended books: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson; The Life of Emily Dickinson by Richard B. Sewall; Grave Expectations by Sue Bailey and Carmen Flowers
Recommended film: First Knight
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1 comment:
For years, I've been disturbed by the thought of my body being pumped full of chemicals just so I don't rot before a timely funeral. Why do we have to make death more palatable? Why do we have to look as though we're just sleeping in an open-casket funeral?
I've also been opposed to having to pay for a coffin just so I can be burned up inside it by fossil fuels.
Plant me, I say!
I feel strongly enough about this that it's in my will!
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