Wait! What?

 

For some time now I have felt, off and on, like the world is upside down or – perhaps spinning so fast that I feel like I have to hang on, but I can’t find any handles - sort of like slipping in the shower and flailing about until you find something solid to lean against ... or ... fall on. In an attempt to find some balance, I make every effort to be positive in spite of what I sometimes feel are looming crazies. 

Anyway ... I was all set to write a short piece entitled “Who Knew?” and began to look for "fun" new ideas.  This week's blog was going to be something light...  and then… drum roll… I ran across an article that changed the direction to something more like  “Oh, how is wish I had not seen this!” – not so light and fun and maybe a bit looming crazy.  It depends on how you feel about it, I guess. This post will be brief – because, for one thing, I can’t stand to write about it for very long.  I decided to write about it in an attempt to sort it all out in my head. It didn't work. I have postponed posting this blog more than once.

Here it is. Today I am going to share with you few tidbits about a process developed in Washington state in 2017 and launched as a environmentally friendly funeral option in 2020… an option that is now legal in six states.  This option is human composting.  Can you guess the states in which it is now legal?  Washington (2019), Colorado and Oregon (2021), California and Vermont (2022) and most recently… New York state (at the very end of December in 2022).

The details of the process are readily available online if you really want to know how this works. Basically, a human body undergoes a microbial transformation into "soil" in a month or two.  In an unfortunate photo posted on one site, the compost looks much like clumps of damp deer droppings. Once you see it, you can’t "unsee" it. Further -- and I am having a hard time with this next aspect of this process ... apparently one can also buy human compost online through various websites. Think about it -- that means that someone is selling it like bags of mulch. In fairness I should mention that it can also be donated to conservation landfills.

Now – I totally understand the concept of ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  I also understand that people are rightfully concerned about the environment.  I do not understand the use of human remains as compost. Am thinking that probably I never will. Maybe if it were called something else …. ??? ....  Nope ... that would not do it for me either.  

I promise I will never write about this again, and the writing process this time wasn't really much help in sorting it all out either. Guess this new process is simply not for me. It just doesn't feel right to me somehow.