As 2023 draws to a close, I’d like to share with you the childlike joy I had watching the cranes on the Notre-Dame reconstruction site. They rise so high. They look so light from the ground. They seem to want to touch the monument with their fingertips, so as not to disrespect it.

The cathedral is massive. It imposes itself. It says I’m here for eternity. Next to it, the cranes are graceful. All cables and latticework, they let the wind pass through, in an admission of humility about their longevity.

Stone and metal.

Earth and air.

This site tells us a lot about who we are. We went back to our roots, relying on the forests to give us wood and the earth to give us stone. We remembered the techniques of yesteryear for shaping frameworks from trunks and sculpting vaults from limestone. And we looked to our steel machines to lift these masses into the air and assemble them without breaking men’s backs.

As the holiday season approaches, I find it moving to see the ancient and the modern come together in the present to build something great.

This building site tells us a lot about what drives us. Our shared desolation in the face of fire. The powerful urge to repair that gripped us all. These deep emotions, which come from afar and stir our souls, are what gave birth in an instant and without detour to the strong union of wills that made this extraordinary project possible.

As we approach the festive season, this fills me with optimism and tenderness for our human society, which knows perfectly well how to set itself in motion if only we touch its heart.

This holiday season, I wish you

stars in your eyes to marvel at the little things,

stars in your chest to keep your heart warm,

stars in the sky to remind you to see far and look up.

Happy holidays to all.

Lucile

PS: You can find previous articles here.

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