Skyscapes

I spent a lot of time staring at clouds as a child. When I compare that to the way we get lost in our screens these days, I see a similarity. Time didn’t seem to exist when it came to how long it took for the clouds to shapeshift and move across the sky. If you asked me how long I had been sitting there staring at them, I could not tell you. The clouds were not functioning according to our clocks.

Sometimes, I would get dizzy if they were moving fast. A surreal moment where it seemed I was noticing the Earth spin. How often do we feel the Earth spinning in our everyday lives? The best would be if I fell asleep while watching the clouds, even if it was for a few moments. I would close my eyes in that spinning moment, becoming a part of the dance that our lovely planet does around the sun.

I love winter landscapes. The stark lines, the clear movements, the density in the air, all lend themselves to a sharp focus view of the world around us. But what I love more is to gaze at the sky in the winter. The clouds put on a magnificent display in the winter. They are moody, they are looming, they are ever-present, and they occasionally put on spectacular displays along with the sun.

Here in the Chicagoland area, we have many days in the winter where we simply exist inside a cloud. The entire sky will be whitish gray. No sunshine, no cloud forms. Just a blank sheet for sky that makes us yearn for color and movement that we take for granted during our other seasons. Even that, to me, is amazing. Like the modern artist who puts one dot on a vast white canvas, a single bird flying in that white sky can bring a lot of wonder and awe.

Occasionally, the clouds will descend and put us into a winter fog. Those spooky, pensive mornings always make my breathing sound louder and make me feel like every other species is hyper aware of my presence. A silence descends along with those clouds that changes the way I see and experience the space around me.

If the sun happens to shine through the clouds in the winter, it’s almost harsh. The wind seems to hit my face harder and everything seems to hold the qualities of ice. When the skies are gray, the snow seems softer. In the sun, the snow gets a sheen to it that feels menacing. But those days do hold a lot more movement in the sky and if you can look up in between the sunrays, it can be amusing at how just that little bit of a check in from the sun can wake everything up. The minute the clouds move in though, a silence returns.

Watching the sky in the winter has become a meditation practice of sorts over the years. It is not joyful, it is not inspiring, it is something that brings realization and acceptance. It feels like a mighty energy that holds a great presence with no expectations. If you have a moment to look up today, I wonder what you will notice in your winter sky?