Sunday, August 10, 2008

This, too, shall pass.



Because I've been immersed in a study of the earth's atmosphere, I'm keeping my eye on the sky, always a good thing for many reasons. This summer has been so wonderful in Washington not only in terms of this year's relative coolness and dryness, but because the sky has been spectacular. Ordinarily in August, the sky looks like a cheap aluminum cookie sheet with no notable features, but this year we've seen deep blues, delicate robin's egg, even cerulean, as well as incredible cloud formations almost every day.

I love the way the sky illustrates, in real time and no uncertain terms, the transitory nature of our reality. Yes, Steve - and all you other Buddhists out there - you are so right that life is ever changing. It is slipping through our fingers even now. Change is so fundamental that in Chinese medicine it's believed if change doesn't occur, there will be illness as a result. Remember that the next time you get the urge to hunker down, dig in your heels and solidify. As Pema Chodron would say, the ground is never firm under your feet.

If you ever doubt the transitory nature of our reality, just watch the sky, a parade of overcasts, many different shades of blue, clear, light, dark, star spangled, sometimes all within a few minutes. I love it that the atmosphere is both visible and invisible. Don't you?

5 comments:

Merle Sneed said...

I do my friend.

tut-tut said...

A lovely rumination.

Steve Reed said...

Yes! Yes! Yes! Great post! :)

Janelle said...

absolutely. indeed. i love the way clouds give the sky shape and dimension. and i love it when the stars give the night sky depth so its like looking into an endless bowl..with stars almost hanging - near and far xx bis x janelle

Gledwood said...

That's a wonderful cloud photo there...

... your horseman reminds me of the "lost plinth" here at Trafalgar Square...

of the 4 monumental plinths there, only 3 have permanent statues on, so the last is an ongoing venue for modern art etc etc

Washington DC, that must be a stately town...

Excellent blog BTW!

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