Under the Clouds

Sometimes I get under the clouds like the city below the mountains. People there can’t see what’s above. They, for a while, forget the grandeur of mountain peaks, the blue sky painted with white clouds, the hillsides colored by evergreens and crisper leaves. They forget that there is a world above that is an escape from and yet part of the world below.

Under the cloud is a certain heaviness. The sun is blocked and what brightness is to be found must come another way. Not knowing the cloud is only a thin layer, there is the assumption that the mountain above is cursed with adverse weather. But those below do not know the perspective of those on the mountain or the experience. Above is clear and sunny. Below is misty and shadowed.

Above, the view is wonderous. The air is crisp. The sound is still. There is no hustle. Getting on the mountain takes time and work but for those seeking quiet, freshness and solitude, it is worth it. There is a certain satisfaction, a certain calm after the struggle …

Have you found your mountain, your experience of the Sacred, a refuge for the health of your soul? Are you addicted to the constant race of, “I must…”, “I have to…”, the popular state of, “I’m super busy…”? The itching need to keep moving and to do more is like a splinter in the mind. It’s maddening!

All you have to truly “do” is “be”. What you do flows from your being, how you existence in the world. What you do is a reflection of who you are being. So, who are you? Do you love who you are being? Are your actions a true reflection of the real you or would you prefer to act and, so, be different?

Sometimes I get under the clouds like the city below the mountains. I can’t see what’s above. For a while, I forget the grandeur of mountain peaks, the blue sky painted with white clouds, the hillsides colored by evergreens and fall-time leaves. I forget that there is a world above that is an escape from and yet part of the world below. I feel a certain heaviness. The sun is blocked and in the struggle to find cloudless-light my imagination leads me to believe that this adversity is a curse. In that state of mind, I forget that the mountain cannot be moved and this struggle brings with it the chance to climb above. Though here in the mist, in the shadowed valley of misfortune, the mountain calls. Clarity and light await- an escape from and yet part of the world below.