Schooner Head, Acadia National Park – February 1st

“When we come back down from the north it’s like coming down from a mountain. We descend through layers of clarity, of coolness and uncluttered light, down past the last granite outcrop, the last small raggedy-edged lake, into the thicker air, the dampness and warm heaviness, the cricket noises and weedy meadow smells of the south.

We reach our house in the afternoon. It looks strange, different, as if enchanted. Thistles and goldenrod have grown up around it, like a thorny hedge, out of the mud. The huge hole and the mountain of earth next door have vanished, and in their place is a new house. How has this happened? I wasn’t expecting such changes.”

Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye

If tomorrow morning the sky falls…

have clouds for breakfast.

If night falls…

use stars for streetlights.

If the moon gets stuck in a tree…

cover the hole in the sky with a strawberry.

If you have butterflies in your stomach…

ask them into your heart.

If your heart catches in your throat…

ask a bird how she sings.

If the birds forget their songs…

listen to a pebble instead.

If you lose a memory…

embroider a new one in its place.

If you lose the key…

throw away the house.

If the clock stops…

use your own hands to tell time.

If the light goes out…

wear it around your neck and go dancing.

If the bus doesn’t come…

catch a fast cloud.

If it’s the last dance…

dance backwards.

If you find your socks don’t match…

stand in a flowerbed.

If your shoes don’t fit…

give them to the fish in the pond.

If your horse needs shoes…

let him use his wings.

If the sun never shines again…

hold fireflies in your hands to keep warm.

If you’re afraid of the dark…

remember the night rainbow.

If there is no happy ending…

make one out of cookie dough.

“I believe that man has three basic qualities: a sensitive and intuitive perception that can exercise itself in the world of the senses, an analytical capability that expresses itself in the abstract world of concepts and thought, and finally a prophetic capability that belongs to the artists, the poets, the creators, the inventors.

These three always integrated qualities exist in all human creatures and they are always directed toward the intelligent consciousness of others and of the world that surrounds us. That is why the most natural response to the question “Why are we here?” becomes: to know.”

– Gae Aulenti, Italian Architect, designed the Musee d’Orsay in Paris

“Be gentle on yourself. You have a right to be here.” If you find yourself lost, in the dark, take some time, take a deep breath, and keep moving forward.

All pictures and poetic text is from the wonderful book “If You’re Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow” by Cooper Edens.