What Do You See?

?I started watching the clouds as a little boy. Sometimes alone and then other times with friends as we raced and embraced the innocence of life as only  small children growing up in a small town could. It was never planned; it just happened and each time it did, there we stood looking up, eagerly pointing out this shape or the next. 

One friend might say he saw a fire engine with a long ladder hanging off to the side. Yet another would claim he saw a Corvette, with big tires ready to eat up the road as burning rubber would not be a fair depiction. Another friend would swear up and down…he saw Superman himself, cape and all, standing there, prepared to come down and protect us from any amount of harm. 

Later on as I briefed my mother on my day, I would tell her everything I saw when I looked up. I would tell her about the dog, the motorcycle, the castle and the horses. Each time I told her she would sit there smiling, lovingly soaking it all in.

The lesson of the clouds is what she called it as we looked up and talked to the clouds, through our small eyes, minds and hearts. And the most beautiful part of it all…

Is that the clouds talked back.

***

I still find myself doing this from time to time. It might come at the end of a long run or happen at the end of a long day. I see all of those shapes and characters but only now, I see so much more. Some days I see love then others, strength, hope and courage but I never walk away without getting something. That’s the lesson of the clouds my mother spoke so fondly of.

Friend the next time you’re feeling down…look up at the clouds because they hold a lesson; they really do. More importantly, they hold a blessing. Look up and talk to them with your eyes, your mind and your heart, because when you do something beautiful happens…

The clouds talk back…