did you know there is a cloud appreciation society?
i should definitely be a member
they quote John Ruskin with this:It is a strange thing how little in general people know about the sky.
It is the part of all creation in which nature has done more for the sake of pleasing man, more, for the sole and evident purpose of talking to him and teaching him, than in any other of her works, and it is just the part in which we least attend to her. There are not many of her other works in which some more material or essential purpose than the mere pleasing of man is not answered by every part of their organization; but every essential purpose of the sky might, as far as we know, be answered, if once in three days, or thereabouts, a great, ugly black rain cloud were brought up over the blue, and everything well watered, and so all left blue again till next time, with perhaps a film of morning and evening mist for dew. And instead of this, there is not a moment of any day of our lives, when nature is not producing scene after scene, picture after picture, glory after glory, and working still upon such exquisite and constant principles of the most perfect beauty, that it is quite certain it is all done for us, and intended for our perpetual pleasure. And every man, wherever placed, however far from other sources of interest or of beauty, has this doing for him constantly… the sky is for all; bright as it is, it is not “too bright, nor good, for human nature’s daily food,” it is fitted in all its functions for the perpetual comfort and exalting of the heart, for the soothing it and purifying it from its dross and dust. Sometimes gentle, sometimes capricious, sometimes awful, never the same for two moments together; almost human in its passions, almost spiritual in its tenderness, almost divine in its infinity, it is surely meant for the chief teacher of what is immortal in us, as it is the chief minister of chastisement or of blessing to what is mortal. And yet we never attend to it, we never make it a subject of thought.....
i do
i "talk" or pray looking to the clouds...i don't know why,
but it has always made me feel more like i'm being heard.
i "look" at clouds a lot.....and sometimes i think i see an "answer"
in the New English Bible , i looked up CLOUDS
it read
"a symbol of God's presence"
i love blue sky...
but i have always loved a cloudy day
it's comforting to me.....
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5 comments:
i think john is geniously correct and morbidly wrong. i am SURE that there are many out there among us who stop to enjoy that ever present vast sky and drink in the glory of its nourishment. i have always been a cloud watcher...often mesmerized by the calming notion of "watching" the sky. i also love to drink in the sunshine on a crisp fall day or a warm spring morning. AND kyle and i often take a moment to marvel at the watercolor sunset...not quite ready to take our eyes off of the beauty before it magically changes into something different. oh dear john...there ARE some of us who take the time to think of such things...
beautiful pictures by the way...i have always wanted to be a cloud picture taker!!!
I just discovered your blog and wanted to compliment you on your cloud pictures. Like you, I love cloudy days. I'll have to check back, it seems we have alot in common.
How can you read this and not go outside to take a look at the sky? If clouds are a symbol of God's presence, then He must have someplace else to be today because my sky all around me is crystal blue without a drop of white puffiness in the sky. I, too, often soak in what the sky has to offer....we have beautiful views of the sunsets from out backyard and on clear nights I love to go out and look at the stars. It's amazing how a moment of sky-gazing can ground you and remind you of all you have to be thankful for. Thanks for the reminder today and for the cloud pictures. :) I love them!
I remember when I was little I used to lay either in the grass, on the trampoline, out on the deck, wherever permitted, and gaze at the sky. I used to love watching the clouds and trying to make out what images the clouds resembled. I miss those days. The days of simplicity. I don't think I have taken the time to reflect at what the sky has to offer in quite some time. Thanks for the refreshing reminder.
wow mom...you went on a blogging binge!
i, too, am a sky watcher. i love clouds...wether they are robust with moisture or thined out like stretched cotton...i especially love the dark grey ones that hold promise to release and touch the earth with their nourishment. i always look at the clouds when i am driving around town...searching for shapes and hidden faces.
i love the part in this quote that said the sky is for everyone...and that it is the chief teacher of what is immortal in us. no matter what our social status or occupancy in life or certain belief we might hold...the sky is a source that stretches out before us...day in and day out...full of inspiration, wonder and mystery.
great pics!
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