At first blush, the idea of the blue sky of happiness seems to reject the possibility that clouds might be beautiful too. After all who wouldn’t want to celebrate the beauty of clouds like this one in the same way as the pristine blue sky?
Image courtesy of Melissa Merideth, Urban by Design
I agree, to experience life in all its richness we must be willing to embrace all of our experience – our thoughts (clouds) and our true nature (the blue sky of happiness). After all we are capable of having beautiful thoughts, just like this cloud.
However, distinctions can be useful, and that’s why in the book the All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness, the ruby coated hobo Jason Carper, instructs the All-Seeing Boy that the key to happiness is knowing that happiness is ever present, just like the blue sky is always there behind the clouds – whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.
His point is that we begin to suffer when we choose to focus on our clouds (thoughts) to the exclusion of the blue sky of happiness (true nature). This is especially so when we focus exclusively on our sad grey cloud thoughts.
So what happens when you focus only on the blue sky of happiness? If you are willing to try, you may find that the effect is the opposite of focusing on your thoughts (clouds). The reason for this, is that unlike THE clouds (your thoughts), the blue sky (your true nature) is in fact like the screen on which a film is projected, which means the clouds,
from the ominous:
to the magical and whispy:
and this funny little dumpling of a cloud,
represent the drama/entertainment/wyrdness of human life unfolding in front of it. Just like when we go to the cinema, we remember that the images before us, are being projected onto a screen. Our laughter (comedy) tears (romance) or fear (horror) doesn’t change the fact it’s a film. We remain firmly rooted in the Truth that we are in a cinema.
The blue sky of happiness is of course a more useful metaphor for our true nature, than a movie projector screen, because it’s awe inspiring, pristine, unbroken, and big enough to encompass us all.
If you have been focusing on your clouds too long, perhaps to the exclusion of the blue sky, then you might want to remember this simple formula.
zmescience.com
1st: Trust the blue sky. Why focus on the Blue Sky first? Because sometimes the clouds are so dramatic, perhaps frightening in our lives, like this one, that we forget that the blue sky will still be there, once the clouds have passed. Of course learning to trust the blue sky (our unbroken true nature) is a process that takes time. As described in the book The All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness, one of the best ways to remember our own True Nature, is to remember it for others through the simple practice of sending (cloudless) blue sky thoughts, to other people.
2nd: Love your clouds. Once we are firmly rooted in the awareness of our true nature, i.e that we understand it will always be there, is unbroken and shared by everyone (like the blue sky), we can begin to better appreciate, or in the words of Co-active Coaching ‘be with’, the clouds when they appear in our life. Sometimes they will be awe inspiring, other times innocuous or even boring, and sometimes, challenging.
Whatever form your clouds take, the more you trust the blue sky as your true nature, the more you’ll enjoy them. And, each time you forget, you’ll delight each time you remember, and choose to fill yourself with the blue sky again.
Thought for the day: What would your life be like, if you stopped comparing your so called good thoughts (fluffy pink clouds) from your bad thoughts (slate black clouds) and focused on the blue sky instead?
