A couple of weeks ago, I was sat in the garden on my day off and I took this photo of the clouds.

What do you see in this photo? What stands out to you? Take a few moments to look at the photo. Is there something that you see instantly?

I know what I saw instantly, which I will go into later in the blog.

I sent this photo to friends, family and also posted it on social media. I was curious to see what people may see! We all see things differently don’t we?  We perceive things from our own personal experience or view point.

Similarly how we view the pandemic will vary on our own perception and experiences.

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I was sat in the garden being mindful, enjoying the present moment and taking a break from work and life. I was gazing at the beautiful sky. The sun was so bright and I was absolutely enjoying it’s warm embrace.

One of my favourite things is enjoying a hug from the sun. Have you ever tried that? When I notice the sun shining on me, even on the coldest of days, in the midst of the ‘usual’ busy life, even if I am sat in the car in traffic – I always say thank you to the sun, as a gratitude practice.

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I know we are experiencing an unprecedented time at the moment and so many people are really struggling with their mental health (anxiety, fear, depression etc) whilst others are in their way flourishing and appreciating the break that this pandemic has given them in relation to their personal circumstances.

Our experience is unique and personal to us.

So, while I was enjoying the sun, all of a sudden I began to feel cold as the sky dimmed. A huge cloud covered the sun. I nearly went back into the house again as I felt so cold, but then decided to just sit through it as I reflected on the metaphor of clouds being passing thoughts.

At that point I took this photo. I could not clearly see what I was taking a photo of because I was still being blinded by a tiny bit of the sun still shinning through the cloud. A few moments later the cloud passed and I began to enjoy the warm embrace again!

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Clouds are temporary. They come and go.  They are the dark times, the negative thoughts, the difficult feelings, those challenging situations. They always pass. Some last longer than others. Some are combined with turbulence. Some create chaos. Some change our lives! However they always pass.

This is a reminder of how life is. The clear sky is permanent. It is infinite and always present. It is the peace, the calm and the stillness within me, within you and within everyone else.

The sun, the light, the warmth from mother nature is always there! So is your inner light and your inner spark. The sun exists outside of us just as the sun exists inside of us.

At times our light goes off (temporarily), but it always comes back.

Sometimes we need an upgrade! We need to reboot. We need to bring in a new light.

When the light goes off, we learn new things, we have realisations and those ‘aha’ moments come to us.

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In this photo, even though I was really cold here on the ground and was tempted to avoid the temporary coldness by going in the house, I sat through it and it was in that moment I captured something magical in the sky.

When I looked at the photo, the image I saw instantly was of an angelic being, a cherub (the lit part) blowing kisses or playing with a butterfly.  Did you see that that too or did you see something different?

I was amazed that others who replied also saw this same image at first glance. Many also didn’t.  Some saw animals and other characters such as fish, a rabbit, a dragon and a rat. Some saw a baby.  Some saw a woman.

It was so interesting to see how everyone perceived this image.

Similarly, how are you perceiving the pandemic? We have one more week left in May. Has your experience and perception changed these last 10 or so weeks?

Have there been changes in how you perceive your life, life in general, your relationships, your work, what you do and why you do it?

Our perceptions create our reality. Our perception can also be ever changing. The more self aware we become the more our perception can change, or even be reinforced.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and that you are keeping well and safe during this time.

Until next time, blessings to you all.

Sukhi 🙂