Monthly Archives: September 2023
A Rainbow In Someone’s Cloud
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.”
— Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou said, “I’ve had so many rainbows in my clouds. I had a lot of clouds, but I had so many rainbows.” Within every cloud, there is a silver lining. From every patch of rain, somewhere there is a rainbow to be found. Have you ever had days, weeks, or months in your life when it seems as though the clouds won’t pass and the rain just won’t stop falling? It’s safe to say that at one point or another most of us have experienced this kind of difficult season. Perhaps you lost a lover or friend, or you experienced the pain of death, or maybe life just threw one too many curveballs at once, and you just felt sad for a while. Sometimes that sadness can be overwhelming and take over for long periods of time or may never go away. No matter how it happens, we can all appreciate that life’s moments are not always filled with sunshine.
With this knowledge in mind, there is a simple and powerful perspective that we can all choose to embrace; that each person you come across is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Whether it’s internally or externally, every person you meet is dealing with something that is challenging for them. Angelou wrote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
While we certainly can’t save people from their pain, we all have the power to influence one another in positive ways. We each have the power to give to one another in a way that is meaningful and impactful. To be the rainbow in someone’s cloud means to cultivate loving kindness as a daily practice in your life. It means looking into your heart, practicing empathy, and using that empathy to connect to the people around you. We all have the opportunity to be someone’s rainbow. Probably the greatest part of adopting this practice is that our efforts don’t need to be overwhelming. Something as simple as a smile can greatly help someone who is going through a difficult time.
Maya Angelou said she always carried these “rainbows” with her to her speaking and teaching engagements, whether in a large venue or an intimate classroom. “I bring everyone who has ever been kind to me with me,” she said. “Black, white, Asian, Spanish-speaking, Native American, gay, straight, everybody. I said, ‘Come on with me. I’m going on the stage. Come with me. I need you now.'” Whether her “rainbows” were living or had long since passed, Dr. Angelou said she always felt and drew strength from their support. “I don’t ever feel I have no help,” she said. “I had rainbows in my clouds.”
She also encouraged people to apply the “rainbow in the clouds” philosophy to their own lives. “The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God — if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.”
To choose to live from a place of loving-kindness is one of the greatest gifts you can give to the world and to yourself. Not only will you impact others in a positive way but you also give yourself a purpose outside of your own needs, which brings fulfillment and ultimately happiness for you too. When we are kind to others, we learn that we matter, that we are powerful, and that what we do on a daily basis really does have an impact on the world around us.
Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud today and practice more kindness in your life.
The Journey
The Journey
By Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voice behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life that you could save.
About the Poem
“The Journey” by Mary Oliver is a poem that focuses on the need to leave behind what is bad and wrong and harmful and start out on a new path. It has become a popular poem for those seeking guidance and strength in their lives. Oliver is best known for her poems on nature. So, “The Journey” is different from most of her poems in that it is more involved with the life of a person who is struggling to find meaning in a relationship and with themselves. The references to the natural world are few and distant – this poem is about the necessity for change, leaving one dark situation and finding another that is more positive. This person who, one day, finally knew what they had to do, is someone who is coming in from the cold, into the light from the dark, re-joining the world of the whole, finding their own voice, no longer a broken individual.
The journey tells of a person who has waited a long time for this day to arrive when they are about to start on a journey out of the dark past and into a brighter future. Despite those voices from any number of people trying to drag them back, giving their “bad advice” as loudly as they could, the poet had made up their mind out of necessity. Note the use of the house which is a symbol of the self, how it was made to tremble, that is, how close this person came to completely collapsing. It’s not a home but an empty person. And the voices are powerful because they represent negative energy, old patterns that this person had to break out of.
In a repeat of the opening line, the speaker clearly declares determinedly that “you know what you had to do.” There is no looking back, no stopping, no chance of holding onto that past life. However, the wind is still at you, trying to destroy and undermine you. The person set off in the day but now it is night and chaos still might rule. This is the chaotic energy of the past still attempting to stop the new progress and end this journey voices are not enough to cause a halt. The poem tells us that we cannot cling to the past, we cannot afford to dwell on what has gone.
In the final dozen lines of the poem, the transition is nearly complete, ready for the next phase. Stars are visible once again, but the cloud cover is not strong enough to diminish their light. Stars, what the old navigators used, now you can use. The voice that had been drowned out by those negative false calls for help is renewed. And it is strong, and it is yours alone.
The emphasis is on coming back into the world following what has been a challenging, chaotic, and terrifying experience. To be able to listen again to that inner voice of wisdom and truth, a sort of companion throughout the ordeal. At the last moment, in the nick of time, before it was too late, the speaker (the person, ‘you’) began the journey and overcame the obstacles both real and imagined.
About the Poet
Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is inspired by nature rather than the human world, stemming from her lifelong passion for solitary walks in the wild. It is characterized by a sincere wonderment at the impact of natural imagery conveyed in unadorned language. In 2007, she was declared to be the country’s best-selling poet.
Ugh! It’s Monday
I really did not want to get out of bed this morning. Isabella woke me a little after 4 am, and I got up to feed her. Then, I promptly went back to bed. I slept until my alarm went off at 5 am at which time I hit the snooze button. When the alarm went off again, I begrudgingly got out of bed.
After being in the classroom all day for the past two weeks, I have to get caught up on my regular work and the ton of emails waiting on me. Other than two tours that I will do this morning, I am free to catch up.
Not much will get done tomorrow. I teach my regular class, then I’ll be out of the office the rest of the day because I have to have some dental work done. My dentist is a very nice man, but I hate going.
God Will Give Us Rest
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
—Exodus 33:14
It’s been a long two weeks of constant work. I spent yesterday trying to get caught up and preparing for my class this week, and I will spend some of today doing the same. When I think about rest, Matthew 11:28 usually comes to mind: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Sometimes, we do need to look to God to give us the rest we need.
Work, especially if it’s work we love, gives us a sense of purpose and well-being. Genesis 2:15 tells us that God created us for work, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” However, it is not healthy to work all the time. There are times when we can become consumed with work, leading to increased stress, and straining our relationships. This is how I have felt these last couple of weeks.
God calls us to take a break from work. He gives us a day of rest each week. God set apart the seventh day as a holy day, to help us enter God’s rest and experience restoration, though Christians now take the first day of the week for rest. Some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were so concerned about keeping the Sabbath, they prevented any form of work from taking place, even healing those who were suffering. Jesus corrected this misunderstand of the Sabbath on several occasions (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-17; John 9:14). Mark 2:27 teaches people that “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath is a gift of God’s grace, that helps us to experience life more fully by setting apart time to reflect on God as the center of our life. God is the one who provides for us. He is the one who heals and restores us. He is the one who saves us from our sin and invites us to share in His rest by placing our faith in the finished work of our savior, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:9 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”
When we rest in God, we deepen our relationship with Him. We increase our dependence on God for both His material and spiritual provision. Glorifying God should be the central aspect of both our work and our rest. God promises that if we turn to Him for rest, He will restore our souls. The beginning of 23rd Psalm in verses 1-3 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Sometimes, we need God to remind us to rest.
P.S. Even Isabella could tell I was tired and needed rest, she let me sleep until 5:30 this morning.
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