Earthsea!

We've driven around and between some of the Lofoten islands in the past few days. It's remarkable here. Islands that look like dragon's teeth, capped with clouds, scattered low stone islands, pools and lakes beneath wrinkled, jagged stony cliffs, mossy stones and hillsides, fields of wild flowers and moss and heather.

We say that it looks like fairyland, gnomeland, dragonland. All these options are easy to imagine. In all three islands there are only 30K inhabitants, leaving plenty of room for all manner of creatures above and between the cliffs and hills and hiding in the mossy nooks.

We say it looks like Middle-Earth but to me it's more like Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin's archipelago of magic and mortals. She's such a deeply wise voice about our own world, and she uses this parable-world to speak about spiritual journey, wisdom and relationship, love and practice and growth.

I am reading her short story collection THE FOUND AND THE LOST and am finding it profoundly insightful about gender and culture. It's wonderful to feel like we are walking around in her magical and powerful parable-world at the same time.

Here's to more adventure and journey and dragons!

- Jessica