Earth-Love: The Clouds

Zhuhai China, Bus to Doumen

Watch the rain fall down. Watch the trees in the wind, but always in this collage of life, let us also watch the clouds. The clouds and sky share much, and their very nature will allow for us to learn more about ourselves.

One of the largest challenges in the world is to find beauty in that which others have dismissed. When someone says the words beauty or beautiful, it is rare for one to conjure an image of a dark gray rain cloud. Yet anyone who has sat on the porch and felt the cool air at that perfect temperature, the gentle breeze blowing on by, and the dark thunderheads approaching knows that there is a certain beauty in all parts of nature. The frozen waterfall might have its own kind of beauty in the reflecting sunlight, but the dark rain cloud allows the air to feel so nice.

During the sunsets when the clouds block the sun's glowing rays, the outline of the powerful cumulus clouds looks french vanilla ice cream, a more conventional form of beauty. The light of the setting sun spreads across the landscape, and the colors of all it touches become so vivid. Gazing upon the lands one might think they are living in a painting or a high resolution photograph, but no matter how strong the editing software is, it does not compare to the power of nature.

When the snowstorm barrels across the continent dropping heaps of white powder, the clouds form together into a strong and tenacious force. As the clouds unify, they combine into a mass of gray across the entire snowscape. Not a single separation can be seen, and the flakes of snow and ice fall from what appears to be an endless span of strength. Beauty is found in many shades.

Of course on a clear day when the sky is blue, the clouds can find a way to form into a beautiful pose, yet most people might imagine a glowing yellow sun and a few white puffs,but instead, one can also think of a cirrus cloud like the stroke of a paintbrush across the blue daylight sky, a poem by nature.

As the sun sets once again, the clouds also form together. After the setting sun is almost in its resting place, the clouds capture a glow across the entire evening sky. It almost appears as if the sky is swarmed with a lakes of fire and molten lava. The orange and red light up the clouds like the celebrations for Chinese New Year.

Let us look upon the clouds with fascination, no matter what color we see in the sky, we should know that there is a way to find beauty in nature. Each moment in the clouds has the possibility for a new poem or song. Learn from the clouds, and let us love the Earth.