Quand j’ai les bleus bébé, quand j’ai les bleus… Remember Pauline Julien’s song about crunching pills to cheer herself up and see things differently? Yeah… a lot of people have no choice but to turn to traditional medicine for a little hope.

I chose another option.

It’s not that traditional medicine is bad, but I’m lucky enough to have several tools in my trunk for those days when the sun is behind the clouds.

Because, you know, that’s exactly what’s happening. Clouds momentarily block out the bright sunlight. I know, having seen it as a teenager at summer camp.

We had climbed a mountain at sunset and had to spend the night on the summit sleeping under the stars. All night long, people took it in turns to stay awake to make sure the campfire stayed lit to keep “unwanted” animals away and to allow us to cook a hot breakfast. Surprise, surprise! Everyone was asleep and the fire had gone out.

It was the warm rays of the sun that roused us from sleep very early. Tempted to grumble about this early wake-up call, I was about to pull my sleeping bag back over my face when I was struck by the beauty of what I saw. The blazing sun was in our eyes, yes, but just a few meters below us was a line of thick, fluffy white clouds. It was as if we were standing on top of the world! Clouds as far as the eye could see, the mountain peak, the sun, and us! It was magical! Nothing else existed! The horizon was white and distant.

As we had to get back down to a meeting point by midday, we all savored the moment and recorded these images before starting our descent.

The further we descended, the more we were in the liquefying clouds! A heavy rain fell at the bottom of the mountain. My companions and I couldn’t help but marvel at it, for we KNOW from having seen it that above the clouds, the sun shines brightly! Even if we couldn’t see it! Even if it was pouring buckets of water down on us, above it all, the weather was magnificent…

That trip taught me a great lesson about life. I wasn’t even 15 and I remember it like it was yesterday. I look back on it with the same sense of wonder.

Whenever I feel like I’m moving forward under a deluge of worries, cares, pitfalls and challenges, when my life gets “heavy” and events get me down, I KNOW that if I put myself somewhere else, like that day that gave me faith that the sun is still shining up there, I’ll be able to hold on to hope and keep moving forward (or wait patiently for a while). I KNOW that this is just a passing thing and that things will eventually get better. It’s all a question of perspective. Where I am right now is crisis and trouble! But if I climb the mountain, get past the rain clouds, I’ll see the sun again!

Today was kind of a day like that. The weather outside is heavy and gray. Inside, I’m feeling a little melancholy, and I find myself wanting to hug myself, rock myself, and cry softly… Nothing serious. Just like that, for all sorts of reasons… that will pass. It’s not that I’m denying I have the blues. Nor am I trying to snap out of it any faster. I observe things as they are, I breathe, I’m grateful to be aware of it, and I simply smile. The sun continues to shine above the passing cloud. And besides, rain is wonderful! It’s essential for life!

Have you ever experienced something similar? Does it give you hope too? Tell me… I’m very interested.

Laughter, joy and health

Linda

P.S. I am fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of extraordinary and generous women. The HAHA Sisterhood. Luckily, our weekly meeting was just this noon! Guess how much better I felt after sharing and laughing with them! You’re a woman (or you know one!) and you’re looking for meaningful and inspiring contacts? This community is for you! Come and join us on Facebook – a private group for women only (sorry for the gentlemen we love).