After Death

What do you want to happen to your body when you die? Have you given it much thought? I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I have given it an excessive amount of thought. I now see that there are two branches to that question. What do you want that is realistically possible in the world you live in. But also, what do you want to happen in an ideal world with no limitations.

In a limitless world my top choice would be a sky burial. This tradition comes from Tibet and surrounding areas. The body is prepared and then left out in the open for vultures and other carrion animals to eat. It might sound overly morbid or barbaric to some, but if you look past the gore there is a great beauty in the circle of life playing out. Instead of being pumped full of chemicals and buried in a metal box to slowly rot and poison the earth (what a traditional burial in America entails these days), the body is left out as food to literally sustain life. No chemicals. No waste. Just another turn in the wheel of life. Not to mention, as a person overly interested in death, I am a big fan of vultures. They literally eat the dead to help keep our world healthy and hygienic. While we may be death avoidant in this culture, we have at least been smart enough to recognize the role vultures play in maintaining the sanitation of our world. Vultures are a protected species. You are not allowed to interfere with them in any way. Even if you find one dead on the side of the road you may not touch it or move it. However, we do not feed people to vultures in my corner of the world, so let’s move on to reality.

For a long time, I thought my only options were burial or cremation. Or perhaps donating my body to science, which I seriously considered for a while. I liked that my death would be supporting something bigger than myself, and I love and support science. However, in researching I learned that my body would almost certainly be embalmed.  I have worked in a funeral home. I have embalmed people. I absolutely do not want that for my body. Embalming has its place, but it’s not in me (a story for another day). So, I kept searching. When I heard about natural burial grounds for the first time, I figured I had likely found what I was looking for. Natural burial is very basic. The body is wrapped in a shroud and buried in the ground. No embalming or metal caskets allowed. I love this option, but I’m also not sure it has enough ability to scale up. I want everyone who wants this option to have it, but we keep making more humans while the world stays the same size. Also, what about the people who live in a concrete jungle and don’t have access to wide open burial ground?

Recompose to the rescue! This is what I want for my body when I die. Instead of a traditional burial in the ground, or cremation (or aquamation), Recompose will compost your body. I was lucky enough to take a virtual tour the other day of their facility in Seattle. They have space set aside to spend time with your person before the service, or do washing rituals if required by religion or preference. They lay the body out for a final viewing and ceremony. People might add things to the pod to be composted with the body. The beautiful example they gave on the tour was of a guy who died as his vegetable garden was flourishing, so his family brought in those vegetables to be composted with his body. Talk about a cycle of life! Everything mixing together and creating new soil for new life to grow in. A new beginning in the ending. After the ceremony the pods are monitored for about 2 months or so until the process is complete. From there the families can take the soil home, or they can donate it to a land trust if they do not have enough space to use all the soil. The heat in the composting process breaks down all the pathogens and chemical compounds so the resulting soil is clean and full of nutrients. It is the first option for city dwellers where there is just not enough land to bury folks and let nature take its course. And also a really beautiful way to bring those of us who live in city spaces back in touch with nature, serving as an excellent reminder to look for ways to work with nature instead of continually trying to dominate it.

As a quick plug, apparently any merch you buy from their shop goes towards a community fund to help people who cannot afford the full cost of the service. I’ve experienced this lack of funds within my own family, and it is a special kind of pain, so I really resonate with this mission. If you have a few extra dollars burning a hole in your pocket and want to spend your money ethically instead of mindlessly, go check out their shop and see if anything calls to you.

I’ve found what I want. What about you? One of my missions in life is to help people realize that there are options after death. The funeral industry makes it seem like they are the only game in town, but there is always competition if you just look for it. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with using a funeral home and letting them guide you down the well worn path if that is what you want. But if you do want something less traditional, or more intimate, or meaningful, then I want you to know those options exist so you can pursue them.