Thursday, January 21, 2021

The Bio Urn

When I die, I want to be cremated and put into a biodegradable urn with a tree seed. I want to be buried on a mountain somewhere, and as the urn breaks down, I’ll hopefully grow into a tree.

I was thinking maybe a Christmas tree. Where a bird or squirrel might make their home and raise a family. And maybe someday, someone will cut me down, drag me into their house, and decorate me. And a few weeks later, I’ll be thrown out at the curb. And I’ll be picked up and shredded into mulch. And maybe that mulch will be put out in a playground somewhere. And maybe a little boy, just like my son, will run through me, kicking his feet and sending the me flying.

And I can serve some purpose and give life and amusement, even after I’m gone. It seems like a more honorable way to go than just being stuck in a hole in the ground in a sad, depressing cemetery. Where someone feels compelled to go and stick plastic flowers that fade and fray.

And I'm not the first to think of this idea. There are bio urns available for an organic burial experience. All you have to do is supply the ashes to nourish the tree. Seems easy enough...