Random Post-Panic Pandemic Reflections
#10
ANOTHER BENEFIT OF SUNSHINE AND FRESH AIR: IT TRIGGERS CREATIVITY
"Think left and think right and think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think if only you try!
Dr. Seuss
I can't wait till spring! After isolating in this condo much of the time since last fall, I cannot remember looking forward this much to the spring season.
I want to go walking in the sunshine and air again - even if walking in the cemetery behind my condo is one of my favorite places to walk. It's a favorite because I can usually walk uninterrupted by stop lights, street intersections, bicycles, baby strollers and others who like to walk. Yes, there are acres of dead people lying around everywhere, but in the spring there always seems to be something blooming to distract you from that grim reality.
Yes, there is nothing to make you appreciate your life more than walking among the dead on a spring day with its fresh air and sunshine! The stark contrast between those of us who are long dead and those of us who are still living, will make you appreciate being on this side of the turf all that much more. For that very reason, I firmly believe that cemeteries are not only for the dead, but they also serve an important purpose for the living. If you are battling "the blues," "feeling sorry for yourself" or simply recovering from COVID "cabin fever," take a nice long spring walk in a cemetery. It could certainly cheer you right up!
My time walking in the cemetery is never wasted. I read in an article recently that one of the benefits of fresh air and sunshine is that it can help spark creativity. Taking a break from intense thinking and relaxing our mind can help us to generate new ideas and have a new perspective on things, thereby making us more productive.
Last summer, as I was walking, reading and admiring the hundreds of crumbling, moss-covered tombstones, I was reminded of an idea that I had several years back that has gone nowhere. The only explanation I have for such a good idea going nowhere is that it is probably an idea ahead of its time! That's sad because it would resolve one of society's biggest struggles and that is what to do with the dead without creating more problems for the living. I agree that we can't keep taking over more and more acres of property to build new cemeteries with huge monuments that need an army of workers to mow around and "keep up.". Neither do I think we should be using tons of precious fuel to turn bodies into ashes and then throwing them into the sea or out of airplanes (or worse having their mantled urns show up in yard sales), never to be remembered again!
Yes, we have the technology to solve the ecology problem that more cemeteries would create and the problem of an ever expanding number of human corpses coming down the line while keeping our tradition of visiting their "resting place." I think we should be buying up more public park land where we can bury the dead. This "new cemetery" model would not use headstones to identify whose lot is whose. No more using huge amounts of precious fuel to "cremate" a body. Everything that goes into the ground would be biodegradable. All you need would be a GPS to identify the "very spots" where your loved ones lie. You could then go to that very spot when you wanted to visit their "resting place." As more and more people die, more and more open park spaces for the living to enjoy would be created, while the "remains" of the deceased would continued to be respected.
OK! I understand! It's an idea ahead of its time! When the breakthrough does comes, remember that I had this idea! The sign at the entrance to this new burial park will read "This is Knott a cemetery!" And again, maybe Knott!
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