Back in the past, so many poets have written about the importance of glory as the best instrument to be remembered over the ages. Many others have fought fiercely to have a spot in the memory of everyone after they’ve died.
Whether those people have died fiercely or not, they didn’t have any option other than be buried or cremated after having left this world. To date, we have to admit that glory is not one of our priorities and also, we have became way more creative about how we want to spend eternity.
In the case of cremation, imagine the boredom spent for an eternity in an old-fashioned jar. But no worries, for any problem there’s a solution and so, here’s a list of interesting options for an afterlife.
Columbarium
If you’re afraid to feel lonely, this might the right choice. So, here you could chat with your neighbours to kill some time (ahem) and also, it provides a place for visitors who come with flowers, gifts and incenses. If the average columbarium is too boring, there’s the option of going full luxury at Nirvana, touted as Singapore’s “only 6-star columbarium” where you can almost be blinded by the amount of gold lockers. In this case, if a simple space for the jars is too boring, there are special “Royal Suites” designed for your comfort, if you have S$20,000.
Planted as a tree
Are you an ecologist? Do you want to keep helping this planet? Well, you can actually opt to be planted as a tree with memorial tree urns. Apparently, human ashes contain beneficial nutrients for plants and combined with actual soil in this kit, the tree will grow healthy and strong. At the moment, there are a number of providers including Bios Urn, The Living Urn and The Spiritree – charging a mere US$145 (good luck finding a place to bury the urn in Singapore if you don’t live in a landed property).
Launched into space
Dreamed of going into space since you were 6 years old? Well, in case you miss this chance in life, you’ll have the chance to do it in the afterlife. Celestis and Elysium Space offer several packages for journeys into space, but only for human ashes though. Among the different options, you can choose a space flight to the moon at US$12,500 (per gram) with Celestis, or a launch into the earth’s orbit where you return as a shooting star for a mere US$1,990 with Elysium Space.
As a diamond
For those who prefer to stay fancy, this is the best way to spend eternity. A company called Life Gem is able to create diamonds of different colours, sizes and carats from human ashes. The diamond is 100% certified, as much as the fact that you’ll have a very fancy afterlife if you have US$19,999 to make yourself into a 0.99 carat diamond.
As a vinyl record
If music is your passion (or one of your family member’s), you might think to spend your afterlife journey as a set of vinyl records. A UK company called “And Vinyly” has managed to create these by pressing human ashes into the vinyls of pre-recorded songs (30 discs at £3,000), or you can leave a private message for your family and friends – for an extra £250 you get to record your own voice with background music. Creepy or sentimental?
As an Adult “Memory Box”
This idea of a ‘memory box’ came from a Dutch designer and it comes with a glass adult toy – let’s call it a vial – that contains 21 grams of ashes (hence its name “21 Grams”) that is said to represent the weight of a human soul. The box, which is locked with a special key, also plays music via smartphone, so it can play the couple’s favourite song. Originally a prototype, the box is reportedly on sale for €7,800. Romantic or…?
