(As published in the Truckee paper Moonshine Ink)
but the clouds are mine......
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Have you ever
looked up to the
clouds floating around in the sky and
seen a bird, or a fish, or a tree? Or,
maybe caught a cloud from the corner
of your eye and wondered, wow,
what's that cloud going to do next?
Clouds seem to have an energy
draw in every collection of ice crystals,
equaled by nothing else offered in
nature. Clouds can twist and turn creating
new forms by the second, opening
up ever changing paths for our visual
cortex to escape into.
Yet, the notion that this mass of
frozen crystals, and winds, floating in
the atmosphere, being an orchestrated
piece of "Natures Puzzle" can conjure
a mixed bag of feelings. Infatuated by
all in nature, it is "The Ancient
Ancestors" of this land who realized
that all these shapes and forms were
more than just that.
Clouds could've represented the
coming of rain, water, and moisture for
their crops. Clouds could've represented
snow, meaning hard times, as harsh
weather meant more difficult hunting.
Clouds surely represented change,
renewal and fertility. Or, clouds
could've simply lit up "Father Sky" in all
his glory. As a whole, they became
known as "The Cloud Nation", of which
was given great reverence by all.
A different time and a different
thought pattern. A "Cloud Nation", an
apparent paradox, in modern terms.
But that was when "Native Mankind"
meant, native, man, kind. A time when
man had kindness for all living things;
a broader respect and more encompassing
balance for each of our
Mother's Nations. Our ancestors understood
unity in the nations, meant unity
for all things put on this earth.
Harmony with nature comes from
the harmony found in nature. Riding
the Summit Chair Lift at Alpine
Meadows Ski Resort on a beautifully
crisp early March morning, my eyes
were invited to observe a few sparsely
littered, cirrus clouds dancing in the
blue of the Tahoe sky. Cirrus clouds
love to swirl and slither as they stretch
and disfigure into new shapes traveling
in jet stream winds.
As the day grew older my sweetie
and I watched cirrus and strato cirrus
clouds being blown to the east. We
were enjoying the 90 inches of new
powder on the slopes, but the ride
back up became as enjoyable as the
face shots going down. So here were
these light and airy clouds being blown
over a high ridge, by lower-level upper
winds. Yes, the perfect formula for
forming a lenticular cloud, more popularly
known as a spaceship cloud.
We watched as the first few clouds
morphed into a long cigar-like shape,
with a bubble in the middle, the classic
"Lenny". Each lift-ride up we watched
as cloud, after cloud, emptied the blue
of the west, and piled up over Mount
Rose into one of the biggest, and most
layered, "Lennies" I'd ever seen. With
eyes wide opened, I drifted into a fresh
space in my mind, just to close them,
setting my mind's eye free, to hover
deep within this massive wonder of
nature.
You know, we're all allowed to be
fascinated with Nature! But it's so easy
to take it all for granted; to gaze to the
sky, and miss it all. Some see no blue,
and it makes them feel blue. Or some
might see clouds, and it reminds them
of bad weather, or aggravates a joint in
their hand. But it is the clouds that add
contrast to the blue, and put the finishing
touches on "Our Mother's" daily
masterpiece.
Clouds are the winds of "Our
Mother's" breath, whisking the moisture
she has gathered from around
her earth, and spreading it through out
her lands. Have you ever noticed the
sun setting against the azure blue of
the western sky? Beautiful, yes. But it
takes only one cloud to reflect, and
bounce the sun's rays about, to show
its true beauty. Or the way a stormy
cumulus cloud can absorb the sun's
energies from the rear, allowing its silver
lining to shine through.
I remember an early winter sunset,
it was cloudless to the west, but, there
were still incredible pastels filling the
sky. I turned to the east to see a huge
pink, and puffy, cloud wrapped around
the top of Mount Rose. Illuminated by
the sun's shimmering rays, as if the
"Cloud Nation" was placing its hands
over the head of the earth, and giving
the mountains a Deeksha Blessing. A
Oneness Blessing for all time. I could
hear the songs of "Our Mothers"
breath in the wind. I could feel
"Mother Earth's" and "Father Sky's"
and "The Cloud Nation's" Oneness.
Talking to a "Good Old Timer" who
recently reminded me how wisdom,
respect and mindfulness are closely
related. This "Modern Elder" made me
think that wisdom and respect for
"Mother Nature" and all of her
Nations' must be passed down. That
respect starts with yourself, and grows
with respect for your elders and your
surroundings. My old friend said, "The
further we get away from nature, the further
we get away from ourselves". We
are part of our surroundings, as much as
our surroundings are part of us.
The missing link in our thought patterns
of today compared to those of
our ancestors is mindfulness. Take the
time to listen to the wind, hear it in
the shimmering of a leaf on a limb.
Take the time to see the wind bring
out the colors of the sun in a cloud,
fracturing it's light and creating a
"Sundog", a mini rainbow in the cloud.
Take the time to feel the wind raise
goose bumps on your arm. Know that
we are as vulnerable as the earth and
the sky, and our actions upon "Mother
Earth" and "Father Sky" and all their
"Nations" are acts upon us in kind.
Love your Mother, and she will love
you. Take the time to give thanks to
"The Cloud Nation" next time it brings
us powder. “Thanks” is the simplest,
and strongest of all types of respect.
The more we learn from Nature, the
more we learn about ourselves.
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~ Jim Griffin loves clouds. He
lives in Truckee and can be reached
at 582-0705, or skichz@earthlink.net.
The photo was taken by Jim at
Mt. Rose.
