Ultruism
November 7th, 2009 by ComputerBob
We’ve all heard that recycling is an Earth-friendly activity that conserves valuable resources and reduces waste.
But have you ever given much thought to what may be the ultimate act of recycling — Recycling your body?
I have. That’s how I made up the word that titles this Journal post.
I have at least a couple of biological relatives whose bodies are interred in mausoleum burial chambers, high above ground level, to ensure that the normal, natural forces that usually “recycle” buried bodies won’t affect them.
That seems like a huge waste of money and space to me.
Many years ago, my wife and I lived in a tiny little town out in the country in Ohio. Instead of paying a monthly fee for trash pickup, everyone in that town bought little paper garbage-pickup-tags with twist-ties from the city for 50 cents apiece. Then, on trash day, we all put our trash out at the street in large plastic garbage bags, with one of those paper tags affixed to each bag.
Back then, I told my wife that if anything ever happened to me, she should save herself a lot of money and trouble and just put me out front in a trash bag with one of those 50-cent tags.
It was a joke, but it illustrated the fact that, as a man of faith, I believe that my soul will live on after my body no longer functions.
So I don’t really care what happens to my body when I’m done using it.
Here’s another way of thinking about the whole issue, that reaches a similar conclusion.
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