Above the clouds

My first airplane journey was in 1990 from Chennai to Singapore. From inside the aircraft I could feel the thuds of rain fall. Flashes of lightning and peals of thunder shattered the atmosphere. As the plane was taking off, my verbalized gut feeling was ‘what if it falls?’.

The plane climbed through the clouds. For the first time I beheld the clouds’ back. To my utter surprise I felt calm. I saw the deep blue sky and unveiled sun. There was no rain or lightning or thunder. Above the clouds it was tranquil.

Through the clouds I could see the earth. Fields, rivers, hills, mountains and seas offered a panoramic sight, as though stitched together, an ever changing kaleidoscopical view of nature. From above, truth, beauty and goodness could be perceived.

This phenomenon puzzled me and still it does. While it is stormy and rainy below the clouds, it is luminous and glorious above. Go above the clouds!

New perception, perspective and outlook can change one’s way of life. Attitudes and approaches will be altered with transformed view. Go above the clouds!

Bodily aches, mental pains, spiritual crises, family problems and so on follow and besiege us even inside the church. Go above the clouds!

Political obsession, media addiction, social preoccupation, cultural fixation, ecclesiastical scandals and consequent exasperation might muddle our faith in God. Go above the clouds!

Identity crisis, self-esteem snag, blurry future, God-related questions etc. might dim the light of one’s life. Go above the clouds!

Successive unsuccessfulness, recurrent backlashes, non-justifiable criticisms and deliberately distanced achievables might push one toward the edge of life. Go above the clouds!

Going above the clouds is not escapism. From a distance reality appears clearer. Distance of space is necessary to enjoy the majesty of a mountain. Distance of time is required to comprehend fully a past event. Go above the clouds to discern truth plainly!

Every religion has two edges: Fundamentalism is below the clouds while mysticism is above. Fundamentalists strive to close the system while mystics strive to enter into the limitless. A system should open itself to accommodate the new and fold itself to keep the essential. Glass globe of oil lantern shields the flame from wind and it is transparent enough to let light shine through. Go above the clouds to keep our spiritual system older to the old and newer to the new!

Go past petty inadequacies, senseless fanaticisms, human-made disparities, pointless disparagements, cowardice fears, grapevinish whining and gravity toward negativity.

Lift your head above the clouds while standing firmly on the earth! Expand to the tranquility while staying in the reality!