CONSCIOUS AGING
One of my first insights into conscious aging was when I realized the contradiction between, on the one hand, knowing aging and dying to be inevitable and, on the other, fearing and denying aging and dying. Fearing and denying what we know to be inevitable? What’s up with that? Most of us are reluctant to talk about our own death. Sometimes, we’ll talk about somebody else’s death.
Medical aid in dying addresses when and how we want to die if we have a terminal diagnosis. Compassion and Choices is the organization leading this conversation nationally.
Have you ever thought about where and how you want to be buried? Have you ever talked about this with anyone? Conscious aging encourages us to have the difficult conversations sooner rather than later. Don’t wait for the crisis to hit, and certainly don’t wait until after you die!
A few months ago, I planned my own 75th birthday party. I’ve started thinking about writing my own obituary. And now I am considering options for my own disposition after death.
A conventional burial includes bathing in formaldehyde (embalming), lying in a casket, and placement in a 6-foot-deep hole in the ground surrounded by a well-manicured headstone garden.
A green burial aims to minimize environmental impact. There is no chemical embalming, no casket (or perhaps a biodegradable casket), the body is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud and left barefoot, and the hole in the ground is closer to 3 feet deep.
A well-manicured headstone garden could have limestone or benches or even birdhouses as markers. What each of us prefers requires forethought and discussion with family and/or friends.
A common alternative to conventional or green burial is flame cremation, or reduction of body by fire. This fast-growing burial choice is an energy intense process (the equivalent of a 500-mile car trip) and includes smoke emission pollution (over 500 pounds of carbon).
Water cremation, or alkaline hydrolysis, reduces the body to a liquid form through three or four hours of gentle rocking in a potassium hydroxide and denatured alcohol bath. It uses very little energy and produces no emissions. Water cremation reduces the body to a sterile nutrient-dense liquid form, which can be given back to the Earth as a bio-stimulant.
Terramation is a relatively recent natural organic reduction process based on the understanding that the earth knows how to compost. The body is placed in a container surrounded by wood chips, straw and alfalfa as well as a bacteria/fungus tea. After 2 to 4 months, it converts into about 20 cubic feet of living soil.
Whatever form of disposition after death, there can be a cultural or spiritual or ceremonial element that is life-enhancing for the family or community who remain. How and where we are buried can be a holistic act of love and an act of gratitude for our vessel of life.
We can imagine how to be buried in a way that matches our values and honors life.