A Living Gravestone 🪦✨

Photo: Justine Anweiler, Crystal Ball Gravestone, 2024.

Today, we roamed a cemetery, and it got me thinking about experience design.

I’m not one to contemplate my gravestone – and really I’m not sure it even makes sense to benchmark a life with an engraved piece of marble – however, today I thought about something I would love to experience as a cemetery roamer.

I liked this idea of still giving life, or simply the element of surprise in a cemetery . . . so the following ideas would exist within a seemingly "normal" graveyard:

⛲️ ~ A very traditional-looking tombstone that, when close enough, triggered a fountain; equally, it would be cool if the surrounding soil could tell it when it needed water

👽 ~ A psychic in a box like the alien one at Area 51

🔮 ~ A fortune-telling crystal ball that appeared to be a simple glass ball atop an otherwise regular cement monument but when visitors came near it gave fortunes like a magic eight ball.

*** All would be solar paneled or low-to-no-maintenance (since I'm dead) 😅

So often, in personal development spaces, we are asked to contemplate our end-of-life speech or our funeral but never do we think about our dream graveyard experience. Together, my friend and I generated the following ideas for us:

🏰 ~ A Disney castle and theme park –> for his husband

🍆 ~ An array of different sculptural expressions of the male anatomy surrounded by plants  -> for him

🪞 ~ A hologram of me offering psychic wisdom in a wild medicinal flower garden -> for me

What would yours be?

Article FAQs generated by Chat GPT:
1. How might creative and playful alternative gravestones change our cultural relationship with death and remembrance?
The article's creative and playful alternatives to typical gravestones could change our cultural relationship with death and remembrance by shifting the focus from mourning and solemnity to celebration, curiosity, and continued connection with the deceased. These imaginative ideas encourage people to see cemeteries as spaces of life and surprise, potentially normalizing conversations about mortality and transforming how we honor and remember those who have passed away in a more personalized and dynamic way.

2. What are the ethical or practical considerations of transforming cemeteries into interactive spaces that offer unexpected experiences?
Transforming cemeteries into interactive spaces involves ethical and practical considerations, such as ensuring respect for diverse cultural and religious beliefs, managing maintenance and safety concerns, and addressing environmental impacts. It would be essential to balance the desire for innovation with sensitivity to those who may find such changes unsettling or inappropriate in a place traditionally dedicated to quiet reflection and respect for the dead.

3. In what ways could designing imaginative graveyard experiences influence personal reflections on mortality and legacy?
Reimagining what a cemetery could be might encourage people to think more deeply and creatively about their own lives, prompting them to consider the unique legacy they want to leave behind. This perspective could inspire individuals to focus on how they wish to be remembered—not just through traditional markers but through experiences that reflect their personality, values, and passions. It could lead to a more meaningful and personal approach to their end-of-life planning, emphasizing joy, playfulness, or a continued impact on the living.