Outwaiting Clouds

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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The bud in half-bloom out waits the cloud. – Mark Nepo

I have wanted to write about clouds for several years. I have thought about writing thank you posts to clouds after sweltering runs. I have thought about posts that tell the stories I have written in my mind’s eye creating characters and plots after watching them from our balcony in recent years. I have thought about posts that recall my relationship with clouds as a child; a relationship of aspiration and sweetness before I stopped noticing their brilliance. Looking back, I somehow knew their impermanence and grace and fluidity were gifts. I am relearning that lesson.

I pray for clouds before long runs.

I pray for the relief they bring. I pray for their capacity to allow my mind to wander. I pray for their ability to rain. I pray for their powerful movement that allows them to dance. I pray for their gentle rhythm to wash over me.

I have learned to love clouds, again.

I understood clouds when I was young. I stopped understanding clouds as I grew older. I stopped seeing the balance that they bring. I stopped seeing the beauty in their shape. I stopped reading the story in their billowy pages. I stopped slowing down and seeing yellow linings and rainbows and imaginary figures. I stopped appreciating their gentle grace. This love grows as I pay more attention. This love grows as I have feel more raindrops and watch the shades of metal gray and white pass before me.

What do I Iearn from clouds?

I learn that all storms pass. I learn to welcome and be thankful for shelter. I learn about balance and light and dark. I learn to find positivity. I learn chemistry and color. I learn depth and perspective. I learn cycles and nature. I learn about their power, humility, and mercy.

https://kitt.global/april-19-outwaiting-clouds-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/