Sun, Clouds, Love

Deep pink at the horizon,

      Burnt orange above,

That one pointed out,

                  More of a peach color

                  In the next layer in the sky,

And finally darker colors

High in the sky

                              As we run along the harbor

        Early on a cool but not cold

                              Mid-fall morning. 

As the sun comes up

And the air warms,

      The colors turn

      To shades of baby blue

                Streaked across the sky,

As another observed.

Our conversation was as warm

As the rising sun

      And as varied

As the colors across the sky.

And throughout the morning

      There were wispy clouds,

      As the third noticed.

Early on, small clouds on the horizon

Like the bodies of little bugs

With many legs under them.

Later, spanning the entire sky.

Light and airy clouds,

Not bringing rain,

But making art in the sky.

Out conversation was light

And carried the art of life

Like the clouds.

A beautiful morning

For beautiful friendships

And wonderful conversation

About our many colored

Sometimes wispy lives.

But one thing is not wispy

But serious as all get out—

How we treat friends and family

With the love like the sun and clouds show

For life on the earth.

40 Days to Better: Day 26

Today I ran 4 miles at just over an 8 minute per mile pace. After getting up and still having to wash some dishes, it was just nice to be able to go out and get in a little bit of time on the road.  And I always enjoy just getting out to clear my mind before a day at work.

As I ran this morning, I looked up and noticed that there were clouds in the sky.  We have had not many cloudy mornings recently so the clouds caught my attention.  And while it is only very early fall, I mentioned to my boys when we road in the car this morning (17 year old driving his two younger brothers to school and me to work so that the 17 year old could keep the car for the day) the old Mamas and Papas song California Dreaming.  "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray..."  When I mentioned the line from the song, my 17 year old commented on how depressing that sounded.

He was right.  I think it was intended to be a reminder of not so happy things.

And that brings me to my thought for the day.  This is not so much a real insight or something that I need to do on the road to better.  Instead, this is something that I realize I have to watch out for and avoid on the road to better.

Will there be gray days?  Sure.  Not just in the clouds in the sky but also in life.

Gray days in marriage.  But plenty of bright sunny days too.

Gray days at work.

Gray days in teaching classes. 

Gray days in friendships.

Gray days in parenting.

Some gray days of running--although I have been blessed to be in top form lately.

What do I need to avoid?  Every gray day?  No, certainly not.  Impossible to do in any case.

What I need to avoid is bringing the gray from one facet of my life into other areas.

A gray run should not lead to a gray day at work.

A gray day at work should not lead to a gray family evening.

A gray day in a friendship should not make the rest of my activities for the day gray.

Will there be some carry over?  Almost certainly.  Life works that way.  It is hard to shield any one area from all others.

What is possible is to make sure to shield as much as possible.

What is possible is to recognize when one area of my life is "gray" and needs to be kept under control.

What is possible is to do everything in my capacity to avoid bringing the problems of the day home with me.

We will see how good I can be at that as I move ahead on the road to better. 

The Moon and Clouds on the Horizon

So, I did get some inspiration while running this morning.  I ran before sunrise.  The moon was near the horizon and looked (although I realize it is only an optical illusion) extra large.  But it was covered by clouds.  So, something that was prominent in the sky could not be seen perfectly clearly.  What did I think of?  I thought of other things that are guiding lights for me that I don't always see clearly:

• God
• My career path
• My family

With patience, the clouds went away, the moon looked even brighter, and things could be seen more clearly.  Sometimes it is just patience.  Sometimes there is a lot of work to do.  But, I expect that in most cases if I wait, I will be able to make more sense out of things.  That I find reassuring.  And even when I can't make complete sense out of things, the size of the moon on the horizon and how bright it is makes me think of how dominant God, career, and family are in my life and how I can follow a path for each of these even if they are not perfectly clear.