Family Tree Deep Rooted
I have an idea that I would love to see happen. With the web 2.0 and technology changing so rapidly it makes me think of what else is going to change in the future or what would I like to see change. I brought this up to my mom one time to see her reaction? it was typical, “Yuck…How could you think of something like that?” Because that is how I think.
What did I say to get a reaction like that from my own mother? Simple, it was about death. In particular funeral arrangement. I’ve been in a box most of my working life and don’t care to be in another one when my body rots. The cemetery is a cold atmosphere where people go to bury their dead, on occasion to go and cry at the foot of the tombstone. A large piece of rock that gets cold and sometimes cracks. My parents want to be cremated and have their resting spot in Dunsmuir, CA. That is where my father was born and raised and is a beautiful place to visit. I love that idea, but I want to expand on that and do something different.
I want to be cremated as well, but don’t spread my ashes across a lake or anywhere in the wild. What I want are for my ashes to be mixed with soil and germinated with an acorn. I want my remains to be introduced to another life form and help it grow and bloom. Imagine a place to go and visit your deceased loved ones, and in the place of a tombstone is an oak tree, or a maple tree, even a fruit tree where you could harvest their gifts each year. Which would you rather hug a tombstone or a tree? If you didn’t like the person break off a branch and take it with you until you can bury the burden. You could hang a nice plaque around the tree to let people know what kind and who this tree is.
One problem with this scenario is I have no idea about how to germinate and where these certain tree can grow. They would have to have a care taker and be in a fenced in area. What would happen if the tree is damaged during a natural disaster? That is factored into the costs and would take seedlings from the original tree and grow another to replace it if the parent tree was damaged enough to be removed… The process would start from the beginning again and burn the tree and take the ashes and mix it with soil and germinate it with the tree of their choice.
My choice would be a cherry tree. What kind of Tree would you want to be?
Independent Filmmaker and Final Cut Pro advocate enjoying life and sharing some moments with the world.
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6 comments ↓
I lean toward a magnolia or pear tree — both inspired by my Grandma’s yard in Lawton, OK. Thx for including readers in these reflections.
beautiful thought, andy. i’d have to go with… a maple tree. would you like butter with those pancakes and sean coon?
A redwood. But I would want to have my skeleton placed next to the tree, so as it grows it engulfs me, like when trees swallow old barbed wire.That way, years from now, someone will walk by and see a skeleton emerging from the tree, like Michelangelo’s unfinished sculpture.
Jill that is great, I take it you had some great memories from there.
@ Sean, absolutely yummy. Personally I’d have a hard time eating it…let me rephrase that. I would have a hard time taking the first bite, but after that, it’s on brother.
@ Jarod, I love it… you would probably have one of those huge growths at the base of the tree that looks like a…you know what I mean.
I`m not perfectly sure what tree I would be, but I would like it to be deep in a beutiful forest that`s hard to g et to, I dont want people going there all the time anyway and I`ve always loved going through large forests. I would also like words or a picture, possibly even a sculpture carved into it.
You need to entrust this task to a caretaker who will plant the tree and keep watch over it. Maybe in their yard. My step-mother buried my father’s ashes under the rose bush I gave her to plant when he died. The red roses are happy and she enjoys their beauty and remembers him. Hint: pick a young caretaker.
Personally, I don’t expect immortality through a tree. I trust in Christ’s promise that we will live forever with Him.
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