I’m “not a new age hippie” but I didn’t love the idea of keeping my dad’s ashes in a coffee can indefinitely because it was stagnant/dead energy. When my in-laws offered to get us a new tree in my dad’s honor, I thought it’d be nice to spread the ashes there so they could be part of the tree. We picked out a pretty crimson maple—sorry Dad, I’m not putting long leaf pines in my front yard. Kneeling to put the ashes down reminded me of when he and I planted a tree together in Acre. I couldn’t exactly do it with my own daughter because she is still too floppy but I think he would have appreciated the near symmetry.