Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Swirls of Blue



My favorite colors have always been blue and green, in that order. I am not sure but I think it is because of the sky and the grass. As a child I often wrapped myself in my blanket and lay in the grass on my back lost in the blue sky above me. Living in the Northwest meant that only occasionally would that blue be free of clouds but that was wonderful too. I loved watching the clouds change shape as they moved across the sky. Often the blue was simply swirls in-between miles of clouds but the blue always pulled me in.

There was something about lying on the grass and staring up into the blue sky that had a mesmerizing effect on me. The effect was similar to staring into a fire or watching the moon travel across the night sky or experiencing the waves of the ocean rhythmically crashing against the shore but the sky effects me differently. The sky is always there and is always changing and always calling to me, no matter where I am. Whether dark and threatening, calm and serene, or fiery as the sun emerges or recedes, or especially clear blue, I spend time daily lost in the beauty of the sky.  What calls to me in that eternal blue I am not sure but it stirs my longing for a Heavenly home and inspires my Spirit to soar into and through the clouds and into the great space beyond.

Fire hypnotizes my mind, helping me to be still. The moon pulls sadness and pain from inside and heals me. Waves of the ocean wash my soul clean, refreshing me. But the sky invites my soul to join with it, making me want to fly, inspires me to new heights. I feel the desire to “be still” more fully, more peaceful, and especially to be my true self. There is a reason the sky is over all else, whether we are by the sea, near an open fire, watching the moon or even in a city away from the healing effects of nature. The sky is like God, always there, always calling, inviting us back to Him, inspiring us to soar higher, be a little better, be more our true self, and be still more fully.

I think of Zeus, the Greek god of the sky. He was the most powerful of all the Greek gods. Ancient Greece recognized that the sky was over all, the most powerful, the blanket of the world. Renaissance painters used blue to represent the Heavens. In Judaism, blue is connected with God the father, and in the Catholic church blue is most closely connected with the Virgin Mary, who they consider to be the queen of heaven.* Peoples throughout all time have looked to the sky for guidance, whether to the sun or the stars. I feel a part of their ancient wonder as I look up into the sky and long for my spirit to be free, to soar with the clouds, or through the clouds and beyond.

Just the other day, it was grey and cold. I felt tired and found myself lying on my green comforter on my bed looking out my window to the clouds morphing as they waltzed across the sky. Before long, swirls of blue began to appear. Something about that blue resonated with my soul, reminding me of carefree days as a child curled up in a blanket on the green grass waiting for the sun to emerge through the clouds and warm me, mesmerized by the swirls of blue. I suddenly wanted to be better, more my true self, more peaceful and still, closer to the Heavens and to God.

3 comments:

Roxane said...

Lovely...I think I'll go out and gaze into the sky for awhile now...

Robert said...

I just read your book list, and I think I'll read that Twain Joan f Arc memoir. That sounds like fun.

Christy said...

Rob, that is one of my favorite books ever. It took Twain over 10 years to finally write because he couldn't find the right voice for it. He loves Joan and it comes across strongly in the book. I hope you enjoy it!