There’s a meditation metaphor I learned early on, way back in 2015 in my first days of using the Headspace meditation app: that no matter the grey day or swirling storm or the freezing rain, when you get above the clouds you’ll find the clear blue sky.
In the meditation I learned, that’s what you strive for — not to stop the storm but to find the truth above it. There’s always peace in your heart if you know where to look for it.
I’m reminded of it today as the metaphor became real on my flight from Green Bay to Chicago. A mostly gray wintery day when we took off but then we got above the cloud layer and there it was — the sun. Looking out at the sea of white clouds I found some of that peace again.
Space. That’s what I crave some days. Physical space, sure, it’s why I moved to a place with fewer people and more open spaces — the lake, the woods, the quiet roads. But mental space. Emotional space. I find myself short of it this workweek. Dozens of things I can handle but then they happen all at once and it’s like I’m in a windstorm with sharp objects and I’m lacerated all over and one ill-timed comment may make me cry.
When I travel, there is a forced space. Forced time away from work communications. Stretches in the car, in the sky. It is not clarity exactly but it is a pause that lets my perspective catch up a little bit. This too shall pass. What do I need to do to show up in the way I want to? With a calmer, more positive energy that’s eluding me this week.
That first lesson resonates today. Remember the blue sky. Even when you cannot see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
With Love,
Natalie