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Sunday, July 3, 2011

My World....According to Me: Blue Sky, or Clouds?

My World....According to Me: Blue Sky, or Clouds?: "As I was driving the other day, I looked up and saw a beautiful, clear blue sky. The beauty of the color and the clearness of the sky struc..."

The moments....

As I was doing my list of things I appreciated before going to sleep the other night, looking back over my day, I realized it was more about the "moments" throughout the day, than it was about the whole day itself.  I thought about going in to get Franki first thing in the morning; seeing her bright eyes, and making her giggle as I bounced in like a bunny.  I thought about running my hands through her hair as the water from the shower rinsed the conditioner from her head, making her hair smooth as silk.  I thought about lathering moisturizer on her body and letting my senses absorb the smell of "baby castille" while feeling her perfect little legs and her perfect little arms.  I thought about us sitting together on her fuzzy pink bean bag chair, eating delicious blueberries together.  I thought about when she turned to me and said, " I wuv u mommy".  I thought about us skipping joyfully down the driveway, holding hands.  I thought of her reaching her hand out with a beautiful yellow dandelion...just for me. I thought of us on the front porch, cuddling, as torrents of rain fell from the sky.  I thought about us playing on the floor together, with Franki crawling over me, under me, sitting on me, sprawling on me, both of us laughing as she used me as a playground object.  I thought of us giggling uncontrollably as we both turned 'round and 'round in circles until we both got dizzy and crumpled to the floor.  I thought of those moments when she formulates her thoughts into words and is so proud of herself when they come out.  I thought about us sitting in the closet, on the floor, playing with dollie.  The bed-time stories and the food sharing, and the sweet and sloppy good-night kisses and the I wuv you's.  It's those moments, that make my life feel so good.  It's those moments that feel fulfilling, rewarding, adventurous, fun, free, interesting, compelling, rich, meaningful, joyful, happy, funny, captivating...and make me eager for more.  When she calls me "mommy, maman, Chris"...in a day filled with those moments, there's nowhere else I'd rather be, and nothing else I'd rather be doing, than being in that moment....each moment unfolding into the next and the next moment to be discovered and felt fully. 

Variety

So, since I'm on this cloud thing....I don't know about you, but I've gone to California and stayed there months at a time, and to tell you the truth, I kind of got tired of just having blue skies...every single day, it was sunny and hot in the area I was exploring.  Although sunny and hot is a fabulous thing, sunny and hot got kind of boring.  I like variety.  I like the rain, I like the clouds, I like the contrast of seasons and I enjoy something about all of it...but I don't want it to be the same thing endlessly every day.  I like it when it's sunny, I like it when it rains, I like it when it's sunny and partly cloudy, I like it when it snows, I like it when it's warm, I like it when it's cooler, I like the fall smells and colors...I could go on about the things I like, and certainly, I have preferences such as, I prefer fresh, crisp air as opposed to humid and sticky....But!..... having some of what I don't want (or prefer less) makes me appreciate even more what I do like or want.  There's nothing like having the sun come out after a few days of rain.  Or there's nothing like breathing the fresh, crisp air after having a few days of humidity.  And, even when it's raining, or even when it's humid, there are plenty of things within that, that I appreciate.... like, I'm happy I can be inside, I'm happy there's air conditioning, I love the sound of the rain, I love my fan above my bed that keeps the air flowing....whatever the "condition" is, I can always find something within it to appreciate and even though, like I said, I have preferences, I really wouldn't want it to be what I prefer all of the time.  So my point is....In life, there are what you might consider more sunny situations, and more cloudy situations and more stormy situations and more "heavy/humid" situations...all kinds of situations, but don't you like the variety of it all?  Don't you like that you have opportunities every day to decide what you prefer and yet appreciate that the situation you're currently looking at, or the situation that you're currently "in" made you decide that you would prefer something else?  Would it be really all that much fun if there were only sunny days?  Or rainy days?  Or snowy days?  Or foggy days?  Whatever your preference is...you may think that you'd like it to just be sunny all of the time, but I wonder if you'd get bored and want a change...even for just a day.  Would you find yourself saying, "I'd like some rain", or even, "I think I'm going to stay inside today" even if its a sunny day.  I think that you might find that you really do want variety.  You really do want some of this and some of that...maybe a little more of this than of that, but even when you're experiencing that, you could just appreciate it because it makes you appreciate this even more.

Blue Sky, or Clouds?

As I was driving the other day, I looked up and saw a beautiful, clear blue sky.  The beauty of the color and the clearness of the sky struck me.  Then, I turned a corner and looked up to see clouds in the sky; big, fluffy white ones that look like cotton balls.  There were all sorts of them, all different shapes and sizes and I'm sure if I hadn't been driving, I would've looked to see what sorts of animal shapes I could find within them.  I was surprised to see the clouds because as I'd been driving in the other direction the sky was so clear, but I wasn't annoyed or afraid or disappointed that the clouds were there when I saw them...I was more interested in the clouds.  Which then brought me to the thought about perspective.  One direction in which I was driving, I perceived the sky as being very clear and very blue.  As I turned and faced another direction, the sky was blue and cluttered with clouds.  It was all the same sky, but the direction in which I was facing gave me a different perspective. I'd just had a discussion with a client about a problem she was perceiving and that's why this clear blue sky/cloud thing stood out for me.  I thought if we all could just see what we perceive as "problems" or "issues" in our lives as those big, fluffy white clouds in the sky, maybe we wouldn't take them so seriously.  There's always a way to see things from a different perspective and the "clouds" are always going to be passing through, and depending on which way you're facing, you're either going to see more, or less of them.  But what if, when you do see them, you look at them with interest or fascination and wonder of what wonderful shapes they hold rather than wishing they weren't there?  Clouds can hold such beauty within them...have you ever just sat and looked at the clouds?    
Just like you know the clouds will pass through, so do problems, and the more interest you hold with what wonderful things they have in store for you, or the more you perceive the blue skies ahead of you, the more quickly those things you perceive as problems will pass on through.