I really enjoyed this piece. What really caught my attention was when you began questioning how people even get into the funeral business. It seems like an odd thing for people to be attracted to, considering the subject is so heavily avoided in our culture. To answer your question of "Is it something they have dreamed about since they were little?" with my thoughts, I do not think it was something that crossed their mind as children. Kids are rarely confronted with death, therefore I believe it was an experience later in life that brought this attraction. Maybe a relatives funeral or a near death experience brought a sudden fascination with death, fulfilled through running a funeral business themselves.
Casey,
I thought this post was very well written. This line struck me in particular:
"Perhaps that is another reason why death and treatment of the dead is rather taboo in our society; there are so many different, sensitive, deeply engrained opinions and unpleasant emotions associated with it."
I agree with you in the sense that death is taboo amongst the people of our society. Because it is so deeply ingrained in religion, it causes a lot of conflicts of interest between people I think, when it is brought up in conversation. Hearing someone deny the afterlife I imagine can be brutal for someone who has envisioned this idea their entire lives. I believe however that it is not only because of religion, but as you said, the emotions attached to death. People would rather believe that they are invincible and will never die. Therefore if they do not speak of death, they will not experience it.
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From Bjorn: I disagree with you saying that cremation is a way of sacrificing the idea of remembrance of a person since the human body, even when it is buried will breakdown in the ground and disappear into small particles anyway. Personally my hope is to get cremated not only, as you mention to save room but also because I think my ashes are able to carry my memory just as well as my rottening body buried in the ground. As long as I have a gravestone I'll be happy.
From Casey: Natalie,
I enjoyed several things about your post. I thought it was prudent to mention the fact that your parents' opinions (and their childrens') are the same as a result of living together for a long time. You did not leave it to the reader to make this important inference.
"I think it would be better to cremate me and then put me in a place where people could come remember me, rather than a cemetery filled with death.”....I thought this quote was especially thought-provoking because brought about the possibility that the real cause of preferences between cremation and burial come down to the fundamental question: Which one is more filled with death?
From Lindsay: Taking a generational/religious approach to analysis these answers lets you get to an interesting place. When I think about death, it also does come down to a place where people could visit me - but I think that can evolve into a place far beyond a gravestone. I wonder if you were to have this same discussion with someone who believed in an afterlife, if they would have more thoughts around your person being in the ground but also how you still exist in the world.
From Sarah:
Natalie,
I found the flow and tone of your blog to make it a good read. I found your idea of comparing two different generations concerns for death interesting. I think this line really summed up your point, "Unlike my peers, who were more concerned with what might happen after death, my parents were able to think about the living. Maybe it is because they have a family, children, that they began to think about the people they are leaving behind." However, what if someone never creates their own family or has children? Does this mean that they continue thinking like an adolescent? Is it really about what and who is surrounding a person? Or does it have more to do with getting older and understanding who you are more? Your blog did a good job of sparking ideas amongst a reader! Good work.
From Sarah:
Natalie,
I found the flow and tone of your blog to make it a good read. I found your idea of comparing two different generations concerns for death interesting. I think this line really summed up your point, "Unlike my peers, who were more concerned with what might happen after death, my parents were able to think about the living. Maybe it is because they have a family, children, that they began to think about the people they are leaving behind." However, what if someone never creates their own family or has children? Does this mean that they continue thinking like an adolescent? Is it really about what and who is surrounding a person? Or does it have more to do with getting older and understanding who you are more? Your blog did a good job of sparking ideas amongst a reader! Good work.
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