The American Lighthouse Foundation is working to make light stations like Wood Island more resilient.
(Photo by Josh McPhail)
Whether we are restoring, maintaining or working to make lighthouses more resilient, realizing the aim is a process. And to be sure, this process is an extended one. Such a labor of love calls for commitment, endurance – and even an unwavering belief in what has yet been made manifest.
Changes in the world around us – be they economic, policy or meteorological, will arise time and again. Navigating these shifts and surprises requires “keepers” to be ever adaptive and spirited in the realm of leadership. To be as transformative as the lighthouses have been to international maritime history.
When caring for lighthouses, we do well to remember:
Passion needs focus.
Responsibility needs honesty.
Deficiency needs change.
Vigilance needs action.
Accomplishment needs the now.
A fog bell in Sohier Park, York (at Nubble Light), during a snowstorm.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
We know storms – weather or otherwise, will come a-calling. The winds of change will blow. Yet our zeal must remain steadfast. Lighthouses need us now more than ever – and in a way, we need lighthouses now more than ever too. If not by sea, then surely as guiding lights for matters of the heart and community.
As keepers of the lights, we must continuously think outside the box and be fearless in the face of the unknown. Rest not on what has been, but rather use the many rewarding experiences gained along the winding way as a guide to chart the course to a more promising tomorrow. We have the watch!
The American Lighthouse Foundation – charting a course to a more promising tomorrow for historic light stations. Shown here is Little River Light in Cutler, Maine. (Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
