Consolations in the Clouds

Look heavenward and what do you see? There is space above, an abundance of absence, such stunning emptiness on high that what is there has its presence enhanced a thousandfold, no matter how ephemeral, or seemingly inconsequential, even something as simple as a cloud. Clouds may be one of the freest elements in all of nature. Though their lofty heights present as aloof, actually, they extend a gentle invitation to a grand perspective, one that anyone can behold, seeing beauty and complementarity in everything, a view too easily missed for the myopia of this earthbound state. Content with their evanescence, billowing, rolling, unfolding, clouds are famously free in form, forever changing, always becoming, and without the slightest bit of protest, until finally they are gone, a kind reminder of the cursory nature of all creation, and that what gives your life meaning is not its permanence but its transience. Clouds never imagine, even for a moment, a commitment to be one thing. These playful, precipitating clusters dance with delightful detachment, some dark and threatening, others white and full of wonder. Strewn here and there in the cerulean on a clear and bright day, clouds congregate, mimicking that eternal longing in the human heart to belong, somewhere, and to someone, truly, a longing only frustrated by the stubbornness to surrender a mask of stoicism for the rare loveliness of real vulnerability. Be patient with yourself, and compassionate. Seeing takes time. There is so much beauty, behind and before you, above and all around you, waiting to be noticed on that day when the heart breaks and, marvelously, your eyes are opened as if for the very first time.