Philosophy of the Fern

I like ferns. I think they are pretty, especially fields of them. Thus I have decided that ferns, especially the lacy type, might be my favorite flowers.
I'm not a very good fern though, although I respect ferns a lot. To me, people that lift, inspire and encourage others are great ferns, basically people that make others look better. This is because when people make bouquets of flowers they often put ferns or other leafy green plants in with the flowers. They add a pretty contrast and make the flowers look better.
At church last week I gave a lesson on leadership, I was amazed at how important being a fern is to being a good leader, far more important then being a good flower.
So to all the people that are ferns. Thank you.
Like Sam, Hyrum, Samwise, Hannah, and Mark.

Epistemology

I know that getting a sunburn hurts. I know that the world revolves around the sun. I know the rhyme "Mary had a Little Lamb." I know that I am a child of God.
The thing is I know all of these things differently.
Epistemology is the study of how we know things. In one of my anthropology classes we talked about this quite a lot, and it has changed my perspective, especially in the "science v. religion" debate. According to the Anthropologist James Lett* there are seven ways of knowing things: (1) experiences through the senses, (2) logic, (3) expert opinion, (4) common knowledge, (5) intuition, (6) revelation and (7) faith.
My opening statements each fall into the above categories, and the most powerful thing about this, is that all of them are legitimate ways of knowing. Yes, sometimes experts debunk what common knowledge has taught us for decades, but there is still power in common knowledge. And sometimes our senses are hoodwinked. The point is though, that when I explain that I know something through faith, an expert can't negate that, because it's like comparing apples and oranges (as they say.... why not raisins and turtles?) it's irrelevant. There are different ways  of knowing, but they definitely all have a place.

*Lett, James W. (1987). The Human Enterprise. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Fall Fun

Buried Treasure

I went to find some buried treasure,
Deep within the ground.
I took a bucket and a shovel,
To see what could be found.

I had no map to tell me.
No x's marked the spot.
But a row of withered stems
Revealed to me a lot.

I did not dig directly there,
But a little farther back.
I did not want to hurt the treasure,
Or make it hard to pack.

A shovelful of dirt I turned.
I reached down, fingers cold,
And rolling from the ground
Was finally *Yukon Gold!

*Yukon Gold is a variety of potato.

English Blood and Manners

Conversation between John and George Knightley after several months of separation,  from the book Emma by Jane Austen:
". . .John Knightley made his appearance, and "How d'ye do, George?" and "John, how are you?" succeeded in the true English style, burying under a calmness that seemed all but indifference, the real attachment which would have led either of them, if requisite, to do every thing for the good of the other."

My blood is 9/32s English (as in from England) for whatever that counts for. But, I connected with this description because I have experienced it. Even when I haven't seen my siblings for a long time, and I have been jumping about all day/week long because I'm excited to see them but then when they finally come all they get is a "hi" and a tendency to stay in the same room. Maybe in that way we are a little more than 9/32s English.

Preferred Conflict

High School. The bell rings. It's 2:02. I leave my last class gratefully. It's been a rough day. Dodging through the crowded hallways, with lockers slamming all around, backpacks and elbows pushing, and voices calling, I catch myself holding my breath. Finally I manage to get to my own locker, dump my books in and take some folders out and stuff them in my bag. I dart through the hallway again to the closet door, one not very many people use. The door shuts behind me and a gust of wind buffets me from the front. I dig in my heels and start walking. And smile up at the grey sky, and the wind whipping my hair. 

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In high school English class we talked about the types of conflict in books: 

Man v. Man (ex. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling)

Man v. Society (ex. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Man v. Nature (ex. Hatchet by Gary Paulson)

I think that's most of them. 

As shown by the first paragraph I have always preferred the man v. nature conflict in my own life. I went gladly to it and away from the man v. society/man. And because of that (I think) I have always kind of wanted to help out at a natural disaster. Some people might find that weird, but I guess I find that sort of thing less disturbing then working with abused children, unemployed parents, or war torn families. There's more than one way to serve, I guess.

Type 2 Fun

One of my friends from my Archaeology Fieldschool last year told me about something called Type 2 Fun. The idea is that many things are fun, jumping in puddles, playing games, a good conversation, watching a movie, reading a book, etc. All those things you would say while doing "this is fun." Those things are considered Type 1 Fun. Just typical fun things.
But there are other types of things that are Type 2. Meaning they are usually really difficult, daunting, and maybe even depressing while we live through them. They challenge us, test our reserves, and are ultimately very rewarding. During the experience you will probably never say "this is fun" but later when you are telling your story and the pain, cold, and stress is slightly blurred by time then you kind of laugh and say "that was fun."
 For my Type 2 Fun things that I've done is camping and working on an Archaeological dig at 10,000 feet elevation with it snowing for several days in a row, which included shifting through wet pebbles without gloves in below freezing weather (see picture). Walking door to door as a missionary when I was fasting, or the intense missionary schedule. The class History and Theory of Anthropology.
However, even though those things are not often going to make me say "woohoo" having a good attitude is still important, because if my attitude isn't at least decent then I might not finish it, and it might just leave me feeling bitter instead of having that opportunity to say instead, that was Type 2 Fun.