I realize that the sun is always there...

I realize that the sun is always there, but it is hard work to keep this knowledge alive after weeks of cloudy weather. I am in Portland, Oregon, USA. Even for rainy, drizzly, low cloud cover, dark sky Portland these past weeks have been brutal. There were some weeks of the loveliest spring weather, then it turned freezing and rainy. The locals keep saying that they need the rain and put on a brave front. Last night we had to have a fire in the living room as well as the heat on. Outside summer flowers are blooming and the peonies have taken a beating from the rain. It is just not right.

I am trying to 'get' the metaphor herein. None of this cloudy business, none of this cold and darkness means that the sun is gone or not doing its job. The sun is steady in its activity. When I forget this I can end up feeling abandoned, enfolded in darkness. The same deal happens when I forget that absolutely everything that happens to us or doesn't happen for us is perfect, filled with Light. I get snookered into thinking that the fog or the thunderclouds or the mist are the reality. I loose sight of the light, the sun, the wisdom and the force which is constant.

My friend, John Gardner, always reminded me to "Keep your eyes on the Light." This sounds like a good idea, but in my orbit, I can get heavily into the fog. One of Rudolf Steiner's exercises for inner development is to pick out something beautiful in every situation. Oh man, do I forget this practice with great regularity. The Portlanders who say "We need the rain." are coming close to this. Watching the rain fall as a thing of beauty regardless of need, might be a better practice.

In any case, in both the weather and in my inner fog, I am having the most wonderful opportunity to remember that the sun is always there and to remember to keep my eyes on the Light. Life is good.