Burials

Two of my grandparents and all four of my great-grandparents are buried in the same cemetery. I've been there for two of the funerals but I've never seen the other four graves.My parents are buried in another cemetery a few miles from my house. I've never been there except for their funerals. My mother was buried wearing her wedding ring, which was never of much intrinsic value.An elderly couple I knew had a little dog; they had it cremated when it died and when the husband died, the urn was buried with him according to his wishes - I have no idea where. I last saw him shortly before he died and he seemed glad to see me - which means more to me than any thought that he's still out there somewhere being spooky.I've heard that in China they bury you and then farm right over you. That's what I'd like:

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We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

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-- Joni Mitchell

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I separate recycling from trash. I find it much more uplifting to be recycled than to spend eternity grovelling at the feet of some fictitious monster.

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You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

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-- Max Ehrmann

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Thanks for making me Google "humanity qua humanity". I don't think it's a "denigration of humanity" at all to think of humanity as part of a greater whole, to think we will go on forever materially no matter what our woo beliefs. I don't have to "force" myself to accept that; it would be hard not to.

quote:

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We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

​

-- Joni Mitchell

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That isn't denigrating, it's uplifting. Trust you to argue that up is down.

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Don’t think of it as dust. Just think of it as the dirt and dust of far-off lands blowing over here and settling on Pig-Pen! It staggers the imagination! He may be carrying the soil that was trod upon by Solomon or Nebuchadnezzar or Genghis Khan!

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-- Charlie Brown

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Maybe retroactive guilt is the ultimate root of our funeral customs.

Why not indeed? You were the one who complained about different ways being "denigrating".