Published February 24, 2022

I’ve been thinking about a quote lately. As told to me by a friend, who qualified it by saying it was her best approximation of the exact quote, it was, “Your mind is the sky and your thoughts are the weather.” Those words led me to the discovery of several iterations.

“Buddhism,” she went on to say, “teaches you to appreciate the sky and not obsess about the weather.”

Before you quibble with any of the above, you should know that my friend told me that she does not consider herself a Buddhist.

“I’m Budd-ish,” she said. “I don’t know if I would call myself a Buddhist. Meditation has helped me so much and the philosophy has really changed my life.”

I made the image using Facebook’s prefab backgrounds. I am not an artist.

Anyway, those words have been on my mind lately amid storms metaphorical and literal. It’s too soon for me to tell you what they all mean to me, yet. But there is something definitive I can tell you based on reports and personal observation.

It’s cold out there. I cannot tell you for sure that I am the sky, but I am trying. Maybe one day or night soon I won’t have to try, I’ll just be. It’s easier to imagine without an invasion underway or the sounds of bombardment anywhere near me. Safe inside, I am not looking at the sky here in my city, but I am reasonably sure it’s devoid of smoke from a military attack.

As I go to bed shortly before 2 a.m., I am reminded of another quote: If you want peace, work for justice. Good night.