acorns.fyi

Category: Reflections

  • The Imposition of Ashes

    Yesterday was Ash Wednesday – a day that, for Christians in the west, marks the first day of Lent. The period of Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter and echos the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and enduring temptations (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 3:1-13). For those who observe it, Lent is period of reflection, repentance, confession, and sacrifice.… Read the rest

  • Mugshot

    A white mug with a red handle. In fancy red script is written Friesen, with a coat of arms beneath.

    I got this mug as a gift from my brother, who picked it up at the Mennonite Heritage Village. The fancy script and heraldry suggest a regal Friesen lineage. A search of the internet finds several different versions of a Friesen coat of arms, though most have the knight helmet and include a good amount of red.

    Speaking of family lineage, I made bread this morning using the recipe passed down to me from my mom, who in turn received it from my dad’s mom.… Read the rest

  • Parks & Protected Areas – Band-aids on a Failing System

    I’m certainly not an cultural anthropologist, but I imagine the concept of ‘park’ or ‘protected area’ – an area deliberately set aside to be free of human ‘interference’ for its own safety – would have been completely foreign and nonsensical to the majority of human societies that have existed to date.

    It seems the need for protected areas is the result of at least two things:

    1. A worldview that has a concept of ‘nature’ and sees humans as somehow distinct from it, and
    2. An economic system that can’t sustainably co-exist with ‘nature’

    Regarding #1, I’m sure there has been much ink spilled to examine and explain how this worldview came about – I recall reading something by Alfred North Whitehead many years ago that placed the blame, and not without merit, at the feet of a certain understanding of Christian theology.… Read the rest

  • Belonging

    Assorted Thoughts on Citizenship and Migration, and the Language Thereof

    ~

    Ecologists often talk about species that are ‘native’ vs those that are ‘non-native’, ‘exotic’, ‘introduced’, or ‘alien’. The distinction ecologists are trying to make is between those species that occur in a place ‘naturally’ vs those that only occur in a place due to human action (accidental or intentional). Ecologists often talk about non-native species in a negative way – as if they don’t belong, need to be eradicated, etc – especially when paired with terms like ‘invasive’ and ‘weedy’.… Read the rest

  • Christmas Carol Reflection #2

    The earnest innocence with which an entirely impractical gift was offered has long made The Little Drummer Boy a favorite of mine. I can imagine it going something like this:

    He had the look of every boy who’s been roused from play and made ‘presentable’, his hair hastily tamed with limited success. He carried with him a small drum – a scrap of sheepskin on a simple wooden frame.… Read the rest

  • Christmas Carol Reflection #1

    I’m told that one of my paternal grandmother’s favorite Christmas carols was O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem. It was also a favorite of my mom. Why did they like it so much? That’s a question I’ve added to my file of things it’s too late to ask since both have passed.

    In any case, it’s become somewhat customary to sing it at family Christmas gatherings, and has become one of my favorite carols, but not only for sentimental reasons.… Read the rest