It’s a grey cloudy day, typical of Wellington winter. As the plane take off we have the usual bumps navigating the breeze as we ascend. There above the clouds the sun shines on my face, it feels like summer, like I’ve just gone on holiday. Yet I’m only flying to Hamilton and the weather sounds pretty wintery there too!
That’s the thing with the weather, it comes and goes can be warm and sunny, cloudy and cold. It’s natural, it’s the seasons. Whatever the weather though the sun is always there. On any given day if you fly above the clouds the sun is always shining, we just can’t always see it.
Life is the same. It can get heavy, cloudy and dark but the sun is still there shining behind those cloudy moments. Clouds come and go in our life but the sun is always there, we just have to look for it and sometimes that means waiting for the clouds to pass or getting above them to bask in the sun.
Those that know me know I’m a bit of a sun seeker, I’m not a fan of winter. This winter not being able to travel to sunnier places has left me facing winter with no way out. Even though I’m only flying to Hamilton (that’s the Waikato, not Hamilton Island Queensland!) I’m reflecting on the fact I can still find the sun. Maybe I didn’t need to head to far off islands after all.
It’s similar with our life, sometimes we can be so lost in the search for more we miss what’s right under our noses. So it’s only 12 degrees but this sunny, still day in Raglan can replace any tropical island beach – I just might not be swimming!
Seeing the sunshine that exists in our life helps us cultivate gratitude and stop lusting after more. We know that craving is never fulfilled – like a bottomless bucket, there’s always more. What if we didn’t need to seek the sun, because it’s been there all along?
Becoming more mindful has allowed me to notice more of the things I’m grateful for in life – the little sunshine moments that exist even on the cloudy days. And let’s face it we need the cloudy days, they bring rain and that leads to growth both of our plants but also in our life as we grow from our challenges.
Whatever the weather in your life currently remember the sun is always shining behind those clouds.