DISTRIBUTION OF ASHES

The distribution of ashes from Mount Redoubt volcano, a hundred miles from Anchorage, should remind thinking people that mankind isn’t in control of everything that happens, or could happen. The eruptions of Redoubt are an Act of God - or “Mother Nature,” if that anthromorphized pseudonym for God makes one more comfortable. Whatever one calls it, it surely should make us humble as a tiny entity in the total scheme of the universe. There’s an infinite Power “out there” that all of us must bow to. A wise - and humble - person understands and accepts that.

In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of humility. The sign remains today, especially on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent when ashes are placed on a believer’s forehead, and the priest solemnly reminds us, "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The Ash Wednesday distribution of ashes is a sober reminder of mortality from an ancient ceremony relating to events beyond our control. Perhaps volcanic distribution of ash should do the same.

We are fortunate today. Human intelligence (A Gift from “Mother Nature”) has learned how to provide better warnings of impending disasters. Even so, we can’t control volcanic eruptions and ashfall or, for that matter, control much else – including meteor impacts, earthly warming and cooling cycles, earthquakes, or the beautiful aurora borealis. Acts of God do make life interesting. The inhabitants of Pompeii had little warning when Mt Vesuvius spewed ash on its victims in the year 79AD. But today we can make educated guesses about which way volcanic ash is likely to travel. And we can prepare for it, to some degree. We’ve come a long long way in the last 1,930 years!