J'ai rêvé

Wahkeena Creek, Columbia Gorge, Oregon

J'ai rêvé de toi hier nuit. 
J'ai rêvé que je t'ai vu dormant,
en rêvant de moi. 

Dog Mountain in Winter - Columbia Gorge, Washington

Ignorance and Curiosity

The opposite of ignorance isn’t intelligence – at least not native intelligence.  The World is full of fools who score well on aptitude tests. 

The real opposite of ignorance is curiosity – a thirst for knowledge and understanding so powerful that one is willing to risk appearing foolish in the pursuit of its quenching. 

The Mountaintop

A child growing up in a secluded wooded valley knows everything important.  All that is relevant and worthwhile is close at hand, and familiar.

Dog Mountain Trail, good dog.

One day, he ascends the foothills; the trees open up, and sunshine pours in. Discoveries and unknown possibilities appear.

French Pete Creek Trail

Finally, he reaches the summit, he sees other valleys—unknown valleys much like his own—as well as deserts, more peaks, and an infinite sky.  It is then he learns that there is more than he can ever know; an awesome universe beyond his imagination or comprehension.  

Columbia River Gorge from Hamilton Mountain

And though he may return to the valley, and be happy there, he is forever changed; his awareness of the universe lends a different meaning to the confines of the valley.