How Clouds Didn’t Get in My Way

Joni Mitchell wrote a song, Both Sides Now, in which she perceives clouds in a positive, then a negative way, and comes to the conclusion she doesn’t know clouds at all.
She makes a good point: the more we learn about something, the less we seem to know about it because that “something” begs more questions.
I have been delving into spirituality and the nature of God most of my life.
I often reach a conclusion about God that appears solid.
But as I travel towards my conclusion, my certainty becomes a vaporous cloud. Inside the cloud, I am enveloped, yet free to move around, and the cloud doesn’t appear to be solid at all.
Yet I am still certain I am now existing within the cloud — within the heart of God.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Walk with Me

Take a walk with me at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve. After we’ve ducked under Route 1 and descended a hundred steps, we’ll enter a boardwalk, shambly and mysterious. The Cloud of Unknowing.
We’ll crouch down in wonder at ferns growing from the very planks at our feet. Life always finds a way.
Stop to admire a tiny mushroom emerging from a mossy handrail. Even our brief lives are magnificent.
Look down to make sure we don’t fall through a hole. Vigilance is helpful.
Rest our elbows on the rickety rail and note kelp wrapped around a tree trunk poking out of the river. How did it get there? Questioning is good for us.
We can’t walk this trail without help from the trail keepers. This tree had fallen over the bridge. Thank you, others, for tidying up my life.
Nature has created an abstract piece of art. Let us enjoy the little things.
Don’t forget to observe the lichen. Recognize the patterns.
Let’s lower our eyes to see the sky. Reflection often turns our well-worn assumptions upside down.
Our path is so much more complex than we originally thought. Textured with life’s experiences.
It’s time to step off the boardwalk and onto solid ground. Rooting ourselves keeps us steady.
But we can still move upwards and onwards towards the Light. Solid footing is a springboard to The Divine.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.