Navigating Stormy Weather with Greater Ease

Experiencing life is better when we identify more with the sky and less with the clouds.  How we perceive ourselves and our experiences reveals our approach to life.

When we see ourselves as the sky, we identify as pure awareness, steadfast in our existence.  It’s our awareness that has the experience of our minds and bodies and the world around us.  Those experiences are like the clouds that come and go, light and fluffy or dark and stormy.   Seeing it this way enables us to maintain a sense of presence with and detachment from our experiences.  It helps us to navigate difficult situations with greater ease.

When we see ourselves as the clouds, we identify with what’s happening to us or around us, benevolent or traumatic as it may be.  Like the tail wagging the dog, something of greater importance is at the mercy of something of lesser importance. 

When we separate who we are from what’s happening, those experiences can be met with less resistance, and our emotional reactions can be felt and released in real time. This way, we can more easily and peacefully participate in the present moment and respond accordingly.

When the sky exists as the backdrop for the clouds to come and go, it highlights how our experiences are temporary and ever changing, while we as individuals prevail, perfect just as we are.  By recognizing the impermanent nature of our thoughts, feelings, and circumstances, we can cultivate a greater sense of acceptance and detachment, which then leads to a greater sense of peace and happiness.

Granted, it’s easy to bear and appreciate the light and fluffy clouds.  Trust that we can also bear the dark and stormy clouds because they, too, shall pass, revealing our true nature as the impermeable sky.