Just curious what the general consensus is. I myself want to be buried. I want a head stone and an official place of burial. I'd like an open casket funeral so my family or friends can say goodbye (something I always like to do). I don't want to be scattered all over the place either (like my mother's family did to my Nana) and I just want to be kept as whole as possible. One exception here folks...I am a strong believer in organ donation. If I die young, I'd be very happy to have the bank harvest my skin, eyes, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, anything that could help someone live a better life (especially a child). I won't be using it, so they can have it. Then bury the rest of my body in a casket. My mother and my sister both wish to be cremated. They don't want "the worms to eat them" or be laid out for an open casket funeral. I will do as they wish, but I won't split their ashes up and put them all over the place. My mom wants to be scattered at the beach, but I don't know if my sister has made up her mind yet. What do you guys think? Crematorium or cemetery?
I really don't care, I'm one of those crotchety types that'll be content with being dumped in the ocean in a plywood box (box not necessary) But if I had to choose, cremation, because I don't want my stinking corpse just lurking underground. Bleck XP
I lean more towards cremation, because I like the idea of my ashes being scattered somewhere really important to me. But in the end, I don't care so much. I figure, I'll be dead so it doesn't matter. I'm of the belief that funerals are for those who are grieving. If my loved ones would feel as if they won't be able to say goodbye properly unless there's an open casket and I'm buried in a place they can visit, then alright. I'll be buried and have an open casket. The section of my will where I talk about what I want done with my body is really short. (Yes, I already wrote a will.)
Cremation is a bit wasteful. I'd like to donate every organ I have to medicine. Preferably there would be no body left over, but I'd like to be buried if my body were to be given back to family.
This would be ideal for me as well. If they could use everything (maybe not my gut. IBS and all that) I'd be glad my final deed was to help others by having my body live on to serve them. I know it won't happen. They MAY take a few things, but unfortunately they waste a lot of good material simply because they want the BEST they can get (beggars can't be choosers is what I say...) I'm hesitant to donate my body to science or something like that. I visited the Bodies exhibit when it rolled through Las Vegas, and while it was amazing and I loved it, it's not something for me. I don't want to be polymerized. I want to decompose. Dust to dust.
That's a beautiful idea for the ashes!!! That reminds me, some people turn their loved one's ashes into gemstones which they mount on a piece of jewelry and wear it with them. I like that idea too. Ideal for a husband or wife.
I regret that my mom was cremated. The arrangements were out of my hands since my aunt made them. I live four states away and didn't have the funds to make a difference. I would prefer to be buried with an Anglican funeral. Organ failure is probably what will kill me. They have seen some rough miles. That is one reason I'm not donating them. They will probably be unusable.
Cremated. I used to find it gross. I've gotten over it. It's so much cheaper and more compact. I don't want my ashes scattered, though. I want them placed in an urn and to go into a somewhat remote and scenic small town cemetery I've already picked out, albeit somewhat early. I just wanted to make sure that relatives and friends who outlasted me knew where I wanted to end up.
Not dying would be preferable. But if I must die, then I want to make my funeral fun. Corpse disposal? Cryogenics, definitely. If not, then at least turn my corpse into something cool and/or practical.
Since a body is mostly water and carbon I wonder if it can be turned into diamonds? Apparently it can. http://www.lifegem.com/ Thanks for your answer, Data.
I believe that's the target stone. I think they crush the ashes under intense heat and pressure like they manufacture industrial grade cutting diamonds. The diamonds usually take on a color, either yellowish or gray due to the impurities.
Gosh, how morbid this isn't...haha. Well, I never really thought a lot about it, until relatives started passing and a few years back, a classmate passed on. Most recently, I was in anatomy and we saw cadavers. After seeing that, I realized I'd like to be cremated. My grandma wants to be cremated, but also wants to be with my (buried) grandpa, so she will be in an urn on top of his grave. I could do something like that. But hey, I just want want to live a good life and hope that when I go, people will be worried about this stuff for me.
Preferably neither. I'd like to be buried at sea so that I could become a more direct part of that ecosystem. I dislike the idea of burial in the ground unless the body is buried without a casket, unless it was inside a casket that is biodegradable and constructed without harmful chemicals to disrupt nature. I also don't want to be buried because I don't want anyone to feel obligated to come visit my burial site, and leave flowers or maintain it or anything like that. I just want to be seamlessly absorbed back into the earth that I came from. Cremation doesn't bother me as much but it's just a bit unnatural for me. Humans slipping corpses into giant incinerators that release pollutants into the air…I'd just rather be peacefully released into the sea.
I agree with you here. Might as well put my body to good use. Other than that, I really don't care what happens to my body; I'll be dead anyway. I just hope my family wouldn't waste money on an expensive funeral.
I'm planning to have my body left in the forest to be eaten by wolves. In seriousness though, i'm completely opposed to long term burials, as once the survivors are gone it's just indefinite waste of land. There was a cemetary right next to my dorm and i would occasionally think "My room could have been 5x larger, except for these stones from 1823." Life belongs to the living.