[LET'S TALK!] AFRAID of the AFTERLIFE  ? What if DEATH could be LIVELY  ?

• OUR REPRESENTATION OF DEATH

I've been frightened by the idea of death for so long... but NOW, it's starting to change.
Thanks to some movies, philosophers and associations dedicated to organic funerals, I feel RELIEVED.

We grow up thinking that we are all going to die and that it's terrible and dark and that's it's a cold place, and that everyone will be sad, and it will be hard to move on. « The moment you die, you're no longer part of this life. »
How do we grow up without developing any fears of death with such messages circulating around us.
Just look at the cemeteries, grey, concrete, and 80% of the flowers you'll find are not natural. It's been proved that more and more people stop going to cemeteries... oh really ??

• MEXICO

It all started in Mexico. I started to consider death differently. In any streets we would be walking in, I would see colourful altars with pictures of family members standing in front of the Virgin Guadaloupe. It striked me : I could decide to think about death in a more rational way, and It could be full of colours.
And so I saw the movie Coco and realized that DEATH is part of LIFE / The ones we loose can continue to live through the memories we sharing, through the altars we build in order to remember there and acknowledge the meaning they had in our lives. We can also write to them, speak to them, focusing on everything they possibly brought to us. Death must me seen as a celebration, it shouldn't scare us so much.

Photo: Los Anegles Daily News

Photo : Disney Movie "Coco"

• VIOLENCE in TODAY's PREPARATION FOR THE AFTERLIFE

I'm personnaly trying to reduce my waste. And when I consider my own death, I do not wish to be buried in the ground or through crematorium : either way it sounds and violent.
Why would I want my body to burn (and pollute the atmosphere by the way) or go through the process of preservation of my body in order to be buried, which consists of : retrieve all blood from the body, inject a toxic brew of formaldehyde, phenol, and menthol in thoracic cavities (6 to 10 liters... that you know pesticides are PART of biocides' family)... This process can contaminate groundwater and generate cancer and other disease in those doing the embalming.. All this to stop the natural decay of the body.

The last step would be to make up the deads in order for him/her to look more lively, which I think is even harder for the family to move on .. sometimes a wig is used. It makes the family hold on to an « untouched/virgin » image of the body and harder to accept the reality of death. Sometimes wigs are used and perfumed powders are often used to eliminate body odours.

=> TOWARDS A GREEN BURIAL

Associations are spreading in France and other countries in favor of « humusation » : we would envelop the body in a degradable cloth, disposed on 50cm of crushed wood, allowing the body to naturally disintegrate and not release cadeverine or putrescine. Families are also helped by the association to guide the loved ones on the other side : for example paintings are made, songs are sung, memories are shared & written... Flower decoration are made.

Knowing that my body could rest in peace in a green place , surrounded by flowers, and imagine a seed planted at the exact same place as my body is decaying is soothing ... It simply transforms the idea of DEATH.

Photo : Billy Graham

In the end, the idea of death will always have the merit of bringing us back to what's most important : Living the present moment as fully as could be, and cherish your loved ones.

Feel free to share any thoughts : it really helps me to consider other options and open my mind.

Keep posted ;)