Blue Skies Baby

As I write this, I'm sitting at my kitchen table staring out the window at the woods behind my house.  It is gorgeous outside just as it has been all weekend.  It truly and finally feels like spring (with the pollen to prove it).  Over the weekend, I made the time to walk outside each day and simply savor the sun.  It has felt like so long since I've enjoyed the sun on my skin and the energies that brings with it.  I went for yet another walk this morning, and I realized how quickly I had given up my morning walking routine when the darkness of winter settled in.  There was something so unpleasant about walking outside when it was cold and dark and now it is equally pleasing to get outside and feel the light.  These thoughts reminded me of this awesome video from Get Some Headspace about meditation and the metaphor of Blue Skies...Headspace Animation: Blue SkyHeadspace Animation: Blue Sky from Headspace on Vimeo.It is also a fabulous metaphor for tapping into our Witness - that unaffected observer that watches all the actions, emotions and tribulations of our ego-selves.  This remembrance that our Witness is always there, likely obscured by the cloudy mind but always there, can be helpful guidance to digging into the breath, into the practice and reconnecting to our ability to witness rather than ride the waves of reaction.One of my favorite examples of this connection to the Witness comes from a story told by Ram Dass - one evening he received a phone call from a student of his who was in the middle of a drug-induced psychotic episode.  Hallucinating, hearing voices, she was unable to be coherent and Ram Dass was having trouble getting through to her.  Finally, he said, "I'd like to speak to the person who dialed the phone."  It was this Witness, this seed of crystal clear blue sky in the midst of a hurricane, that was able to pick up the phone, dial his number and ask for help.  It was the ability to reconnect to that seed of clarity that helped to bring this student back down.As we settle into the sunny days of spring, can we also hone into our own Witness - growing it stronger and more apparent with each practice so that when the inevitable April Showers of seasons and life come, we can still find our Blue Sky hidden somewhere inside.