This Memorial Day, I find myself reflecting not just on those we have lost, but on those rare, deeply intentional moments when someone prepares for their own farewell.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been working on a special request—one that falls outside the usual line of Pachamama’s products. A man contacted me asking for a biodegradable urn—not for someone else, but for himself. He is a U.S. Navy veteran, and he asked for the urn to be adorned with the Navy emblem.
It’s not the first time I’ve received a request like this. Last year, another person reached out, choosing a Pachamama urn for themselves, selecting the flower color for its symbolic meaning. And yet, each time this happens, it touches something deep in me. There’s something incredibly powerful about a person who prepares their own way forward.
What a symbolic gesture it is—for someone who spent their life in the sea, in service, to choose their return to it. What clarity, what peace, and what profound love for those who remain. I imagine this man is someone full of integrity and intention. Someone who doesn’t just leave behind a life of service, but a legacy of courage and grace.
Memorial Day invites us to pause—to remember those who served, those who gave, those who chose to live with honor and purpose. And this year, it also invites me to recognize something else: that choosing your own farewell can be the ultimate act of love.
It’s a way of easing the path for those you leave behind. A way of saying, “This is who I was, and this is how I want to be remembered.”
In creating this urn, I spent days researching materials, refining the details, and making sure that every part of it reflected dignity and care. It’s not just about the object—it’s about the life it will represent. About the story it carries. About the hands that will hold it, the sea that will receive it, and the silence that will follow.
With every custom request, I’m reminded that Pachamama is not just a store—it’s a vessel for something greater. It’s about honoring lives, one by one. About listening. About crafting with meaning.
These moments affirm that I’m on the right path. That I’m not just creating urns—I’m helping shape memories, transitions, and legacies.
To those who serve, to those we’ve lost, and to those who prepare their goodbyes with courage: I honor you.
With love,
Virginia