I was thinking as I watched the show that if I was an Oprah Winfrey Show producer, I would do a show about funerals and the funeral industry.  Recently my sister passed away, and I was struck by how bizarre the entire funeral ritual is, and how exploitative the funeral industry can be. 

Funny how nobody likes to talk about death and dying and funerals before tragedy happens.  But then you’re smack dab in the middle of it, and you have absolutely no reasonable thinking powers with which to make decisions about the things you never wanted to talk about.

I find the viewing of the body to be bizarre.  I find the coffins, pallbearers, burials, headstones, plots and graveside services bizarre.   When you watch a person pass away, as I have more than once, you are clear that the body is just a shell.  Why in the world is there so much time and attention and money spent for the sake of an empty shell?

Personally I think the funeral industry gets people at the most vulnerable time of their life and sells them things that don’t make sense, which people purchase out of guilt, obligation, and temporary insanity.  At some point we’re going to run out of places to bury the bodies.  There are so many graves that no one cares about or visits any more.  So, why are they there exactly?

If I was an Oprah show producer, I would find people who felt like they had been bamboozled by the funeral experience and ritual.  To tell the other side of the story, I would find people who believe strongly that funerals are beneficial and those who had a positive funeral experience.

What about you?   What’s your take on funerals and the funeral industry?  Have you had a personal experience that makes you feel strongly one way or the other?  Don’t you think this is a topic that needs to be talked about NOW before we all find ourselves overwhelmed by it?

More information about The Oprah Winfrey Show with Elizabeth Lesser and “Broken Open”

Real-time transcript of Oprah Winfrey Show with Elizabeth Lesser of Omega Institute, and her book, “Broken Open.”

What about the whole funeral thing???