Everything Under the Moon

I visited Ft. Logan National Cemetery today. My parents are buried there. Last week I drove around Mt. Olivet Cemetery. My grandparents are buried there. I don't want to be buried. Cemeteries are for the living. The dead don't need them. Cemeteries take up a lot of land, that might otherwise be available for things like open space and playgrounds. But not golf courses. Golf courses are, in my opinion, detrimental to the environment just because of the amount of water it takes to pander to an expensive hobby.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Snow

I love visiting cemeteries. I have an equally weird friend and we used to go for a walk to cemetery a lot ))
When I visit another town, I want to visit local cemetery if possible.

AS far as I am concerned, I want to be buried under the tree in a forest. No coffin is necessary. But I think it's illegal :/
I also love the custom of being eaten by birds or wild animals.

I like cemeteries too, but I don't really like being there alone. I feel too many energies there and need someone to lean on.

I want to be cremated and thrown in the ocean or in the wind, in a forest...Anyway, somewhere in nature. I don't like the idea of being crushed by 27m^3 of soil. I know that the body can't feel anything any more, but the idea of being locked in a coffin, being crushed by earth and being eaten by the maggots ( sorry for the visual...if it's too disturbing I'll edit).

Another possibility, would be also being cremated and then buried somewhere in my yard and a baby tree being planted on my grave. It's not legal, but nobody has to know :- D.

Moon, being eaten by wild animals or birds, brings back images from the books I used to read a few years ago...very violent images...

I know in the US, cremated remains can usually be buried anywhere, even in the back yard. We cant all be thrown in the ocean or water supply. Our modern burial customs need some re-thinking, and as long as there is a belief on the planet in any type of bodily resurrection, we'll have cemeteries. Many societies aren't tribal any more. Uncontrolled population growth needs land. It's never just one issue when people are involved.

I have always liked the peace & silence in a cemetery and have some favorite local sites for ruminating. One location has a huge, seated angel statue with graceful wings, another has a large pyramid emblazoned with interesting signs. In autumn as the leaves color, these places are beautiful.

You'd think that as a medium I'd be inundated by the residents, but I'm not. Sure, there are the occasional wanderers but unless I welcome, summon and call, I'm generally ignored (thankyouverymuch). The emotions of the grievers do leave a thick cloud of emotions, but again, I can usually earth it. Lots of people leave a coin at the entrances, or on headstones. It can be as a sign of respect, a nod to gate keeper of the shadows, & on a grave it means the soil's been purchased for a need, so don't collect them for bus fare. You don't know where that bus might go.

I've not visited a cemetery in a long while. I used to frequent them a lot in my teenage years, partly because I was depressed, partly because I felt more comfortable there than with the rest of society. I don't mind society building or making leisure things like golf courses, society as a whole is a blunderous species that takes what it wants without thought. Its up to the few of us aware enough to make amends to it even if it can't be helped like building new housing for new families.

devon

I've never been fond of cemeteries. They're creepy to me. Might be from watching Night of the Living Dead way too young. Plus, it serves as too much of a reminder of my mortality for my comfort and I struggle with the idea of death enough. I agree, though, that they are more for the living than the dead. I learned fairly early on, though, that the dead don't tend to linger there much.

I really like the idea of my ashes being planted with soil for a tree to grow. I've seen some things about that, and about remains being mixed with concrete to create artificial reefs. I like the idea of giving back than just taking up some space.

I consider cemeteries temples of grief.
Sometimes it takes a trip there to get it out. Yea, for the living.
I'm looking into green burial.
My parents were golfers, and mom golfed for a long time after dad passed. It was good for her.
Now are we comparing park-like settings? I'm really not on board with all the fertilizers and manicure that goes into a golf course, that's totally ridiculous, but the same amout of care goes into many cemeteries, which isn't really necessary for a cemetery, though we have gotten used to the "green" in both. Not even needed in both. My parents used to golf at this dry course. Then the place tried to plant grass, it did barely ok just really wasn't the environment for it. I say go with what the local area can sustain. If it rains alot, have grass, if it doesn't, have dirt. The cemetery that dads ashes are at has an old section that is dirt, I actually prefer it with its scattered oak trees. Though one day I saw the workers maintaining the dirt area...ugh, spraying Round-up the whole ground was green with the herbicide. Where does it stop? Grass in the desert, poison on the dirt so it stays dirt...
I heard Circle Sanctuary has a cemetery now and they can do green burials.
Bb, buriedbird ...burnt in life, whole in death.

Best bet might be to get yourself a tomb like a pharaoh or find someone you trust to bury you deep in a forest with your gems. Instruct them to dig deeper than just six feet.

John Anthony West in his book Serpent in the Sky: High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt mentions some strange cathedral builders that came to Europe in 11-14th century and built temples with unparalleled air in them. I like to visit one of these that have a cemetery around it and I think the dead hanging around are quite ok with it.