Beauty is…
Have you ever looked at the sky and thought how amazing it is? I have been on many flights in my lifetime, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the changing clouds as the plane has moved through the sky. In fact, all my travelling on planes has been international or US internal flights. Sometimes I have been alone, but mostly with others. Actually I will say even with the multitude of flights I have been on, I have always received excellent care from the stewards and stewardesses.
Then, of course, no matter where you are in the world, there are sunrises and sunsets and they can be truly spectacular. To see the sun rise or set on an aeroplane adds a unique aspect that you can’t get any other way obviously and I will admit I have enjoyed every one that I have experienced while in the air. And, of course, the ones I have seen wherever I am in the world. Everybody will have seen at least one and sometimes the beauty is SO captivating that people capture it either through photograph or artwork.
Another thing I love about the sky is rainbows. After we lost Natalie, I treasured the concept that we could and would have a child after her. And Johnathan is our rainbow baby. He knows I love rainbows and has brought me gifts with rainbows but it was only recently that he actually learned he WAS a rainbow baby, born after a loss. But this is not the time for that. One time Johnathan was with Kevin and there was a double rainbow and he insisted Kevin take a picture of it so that he could show me two at once.
Of course if you are closer to the north pole you could see the aurora borealis. I have never journeyed far enough to see it for myself but I have seen films with it in, or photos or videos people have taken and admired the beauty of the light show that it brings. In fact, Johnathan has a light show that goes on his ceiling with green and blue lights and a nebula. If he wakes in the night, he looks at the light as a calming measure to help him not be too scared. Sometimes he can get back to sleep with them, but not always. I know it’s not really the same as the aurora borealis but it reminds me of it and for him it’s a great calming tool.
Do you know that not only have I never seen a moon bow but I actually hadn’t even heard of them until last year? There was a photo came up in my facebook newsfeed and I asked Kevin if it was some photographic trick or other but he said it was real and OH, THE BEAUTY of it! I was actually quite surprised how much I loved it. Maybe it’s the shape that makes it so satisfying, I don’t know. Normally things that are black and white in colour are just boring to me, so I don’t know what made it appealing.
For me, it’s always been wonderful to watch the sky and the clouds moving across it. They can be whatever clouds shapes - it’s just the feeling of lying down and watching the clouds that makes my problems feel so small. Whenever I think of artwork, my mind moves towards the sky. My parents had a few Turner (at least I think it was him) of clouds. One was of clouds at sea and I can’t remember what the other one was. But even though I can’t remember exactly what they were, i know if I see them again, I will and it will bring back the joy of looking at them and my illness/sickness/whatever seemed to vanish away.
Lastly, of course, is the night sky - with the moon and stars. I can remember one time I think we were in Tenerife or France when I was little and we came out of a restaurant when i thought it was very late and we saw the stars and it was just amazing to read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Garden of Verses for children and read the poems that mentioned the night sky. His descriptions always made what he was talking about seem alive and present to me.
I know talking of the wonders of the sky won’t appeal to everyone, but that is the beauty of it all, that we don’t have to agree about what we find moves us to a response deep inside. But even if you haven’t seen beauty in it before, maybe, just maybe this has made you stop and think of the fact you don’t need to be rushing by so fast that you can’t even see the wonders of the sky by day or night. You can always take a few moments to look at the sky. It doesn’t take much. Even if you want to just grab a quick photo to look at later, you can. There are no rules to the vastness of the sky and its appreciation.