Think beyond the clouds.

I’d love to take credit for the title, but it was actually something said by the contractor currently doing repairs in the house I rent. It was pretty much a day off for me, so whenever he was on his break, we would converse, and oddly enough, this person, who I’d only met briefly beforehand, ended up having very similar viewpoints to my own, especially in regard to artists.

He mentioned how lucky we have it here in Toronto, when it comes to the arts. To paraphrase, he basically said that even on the cloudiest of days, like today, we still live in a city where anyone is free to practice their art and express themselves through whatever art form they choose. Many of us in Toronto are lucky to be in such a position, myself included. And no matter how bad our situation may seem, it doesn’t change the fact that we can still be free to express ourselves as artists. The insightful contractor with whom I conversed is from the former Yugoslavia, and knows quite a bit about societies that aren’t able to express themselves as freely or as easily. But even in those circumstances, they are still able to find ways to be the light for others. As he puts it, it’s important to think beyond the clouds.

We have a few sayings like this, of course. There’s always a silver lining. Think outside the box. The glass is half-full. But there’s something about “thinking beyond the clouds” that sounds so simple and insightful. It implies an upward direction. It implies a clearing beyond that which may make us feel down or uninspired. It’s also active. It’s your thoughts that will get you to that sunlight in your life that you may not have found in a long time. Things may be looking bleak, but keep focused on what you want and think beyond the clouds. See? Effective.

I’ve written about dealing in perspectives before, and this idea is probably the most streamlined way to get that previous message across. I call it “zooming out”, but you can bet that I’ll be using “think beyond the clouds” when trying to help others keep their spirits up.

There’s always clarity and sunlight above those clouds. Get your head and your soul up into the sky often. I’ll meet you up there.

– Mickey