My Funeral: A Green Burial Story

Once I learned about what a green burial is I knew instantly that this was the way I wanted my funeral to be held.  The more I learned about the desecration and destruction  that is done to our earth through a traditional burial in a traditional graveyard, as we have become accustomed to, the more passionate I became about my own funeral…..my place of final serenity.

And so I ask you….Where is it that you feel the most peaceful?

A place you go to where, no matter what chaos might be going on around you,  you feel inner peace and serenity…contentment. Where your heart and mind stop racing.  Where you feel connected to something bigger than you.  Where you can take a deep breathe and smile.

It’s your world.  Feel the world around you.  Connect to the earth, the trees…or the water, the river, sea, ocean.  Wonderful,  invigorating fresh clean air.  Even when you’re not physically there you can close your eyes, smell, hear, feel, see…you can go there in your mind as if you’re truly there.  A place you always want to be.  Always.

For me it’s being near Long Island Sound.  Listening to the movement of the water.  Smelling the memories the scent rekindles inside of me. Taking a deep breath I feel I feel contentment and peace.  A peaceful smile crosses my face.

For others it might be a river or a babbling brook. Listening to the water as it flows over the river rocks and the songs of the birds calling to each other.  The smells of the trees and wildflowers surround me.

I know that as natural as birth is, death can be as natural.  I don’t mean the actual cause of death but the way our physical body is handled after we pass. So, when I pass , I want my final act of paying it forward to be a  green burial.  Personally, I don’t want to be cremated, just my personal choice.  But there are ways of having an eco-friendly cremation as well, if ones wishes to go that route. As for me…let me go back to the earth naturally.  Dust to Dust.  Angel Dust?

Don’t fill my body with unnatural preservatives like emblaming fluid.  Actually, did you know that there is no state or province in North America that requires embalming?  It is not federal law.  A body must be put on dry ice or refrigerated within twenty-four hours but it doesn’t have to be embalmed.  The exceptions may be when transporting a body across state lines or possibly with air travel.
Don’t bury me in a sealed coffin (I might turn to soup!) with steel and metal or plastic that will never break down.  Unless you know the wood is totally biodegradable, like simple pine or other eco-friendly alternatives, most coffins contain shellac, glues and other chemicals that will harm our beautiful planet.
For me a biodegradable, unsealed coffin and a simple cotton shroud is fine.  My grave does not need a burial vault which is made of cement nor does it need to be dug deeper than is necessary for natural composting to occur.
Plant a tree or use an existing rock (you may engrave it if you wish) as a marker.  A lilac tree would be nice.  Natural burial preserves are protected from any kind of future development, therefore the land cannot be altered from it’s original intent.
Green burials are becoming more and more popular, especially among us baby boomers.  Partly because we are becoming acutely aware of how important it is  to pitch in and help our home, the earth…and partly because the funeral business is big business and profit is the bottom line with green burials costing less.
So for me, as death is inevitable, it’s a win win situation.

Tags:burial,death,earth,embalming,funeral,graveyard,green burial,serenity

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