For me, clouds have a metaphorical meaning.
When I watch the bright milky white clouds move against the backdrop of a blue sky, memories of many happy occasions flood to my mind. I was once in the company of a cloud watcher from Japan , who showed me photographs of many cloudy formation in the sky and related the moods and emotions the clouds created within. It was a moving occasion to listen to the inner story of that friend, synchronising with the formation and pattern of cloud. He received from the cloud a message on each occasion. Our subconscious gets awakened by an external reality. It is as if we need signs and symbols to remind us of the inner events which need revisiting to discover the meaning beyond the obvious.
What happens when the clouds are dark and indicate rain! That too is an occasion to look forward to. The rain that follows the cloud formation is a down pour of blessing in a metaphorical perspective. The thick and dark clouds might appear initially threatening, but it leaves behind a clear sky after the rain.
When relationships with others become cloudy with misunderstanding, failing trust and respect, the going becomes stressful. This theme has often surfaced in mind during this year in my life. I have withdrawn from engagement after a point, when relationships became intensely difficult. So the clouds persist. My efforts to engage were not good enough to clear the clouds of doubt, suspicion or disregard.
What refreshes me in such difficult circumstances is to return to the sky and not become heavier thinking of the clouds. The sky is bright and blue always embracing clouds which it shall move around till it becomes a downpour.
Those of us, who live with broken relationships and the heaviness of heart on account of them, still can wait in hope because the clouds are transient and temporal. It has an origin and and a natural end. The sky consumes them in due course of time.
The sky is a metaphor for the everlasting joy of life because of the abundance of love of God. Each of us gets absorbed into this wide canvas of God's presence and love, the consciousness of which might dawn on us only slowly, as we have to recover from the habit of fixing our gaze on the clouds on the sky which obliterate the view of the sky. The sky might appear hidden, but what is hidden is the eternal truth, that does not change.
When we feel estranged or suffer from broken relationship, it is good to shift the gaze to the sky. Sometimes attending to the sentiments of broken relationships in conversations can only add to the stress. In due course the clouds would fade away or become a shower!
The calling in the mean time is to view even those who choose to stay away from communication soberly, thoughtfully, kindly and prayerfully! That sets in a spirit of acceptance and welcome for the opportune time to arrive with a bright sky!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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