I See Dead People

 I'm not sure Earth Day is getting its fifteen minutes this year. People are concerned, and rightfully so, about how to pay bills, buy groceries and live in a dystopian society.

But, we can't do any of it without Earth. Do you ever consider how absolutely astonishing this planet is? We need just the right amount of gases to breath. Any slight variation and we wouldn't be here. Water, sun, bees and trees, glorious, beautiful trees.

One of my favorite places to walk is the cemetery. It's quiet. There are flowers and grass and trees and dead bodies, everywhere. 

Cemeteries take up a lot of space. The unalive are down there, six feet under, inside metal and wood caskets. No worries, though, the formaldehyde will keep the juices and guts intact for years and years.

I think it's time we reconsider what we do with our remains. There have been some great options over the last few decades such as green burials. My sister and her husband are planning to be buried sans embalming fluids or casket. They will be wrapped in a biodegradable cloth and buried next to a tree. Their bodies will decay naturally all the while being a source of nutrients for the tree. 

Sound gross? Need I go into detail what happens when you choose to be buried in a cemetery? 

Of course, there are other options such as cremation, which is my choice right now, although I'm liking being a food source for a tree.

If you decide to be cremated you can have your ashes turned into a diamond. Ooh.

You can also donate your body for medical research. Yeah, that's icky, but you're dead. You won't hear them gag or laugh or faint.

I wouldn't mind walking through a beautiful forest which is being fed by humans. Instead of a gravestone perhaps a bench with your name on it, or a little plaque on a tree to honor and memorialize you were a living, breathing soul who had the incredible luck to have been a part of this amazing planet.