Embark on a Cloud Chasing Expedition

Create Your Own Cloud Chasing Kit

By Cynthia Staples

“When I reached a street corner I looked up and saw before me a magnificent sight. Rosy hued clouds, gilded by the sun, filled the sky. They took my breath away.”

One day I was standing in Harvard Square waiting for the bus when I heard a little girl say to her mother, "If I had a big vacuum cleaner, I could suck all of the clouds out of the sky." In response, I thought, what a sad sky that would be.

You see, lately I have become enamored with clouds. I remember the moment when my love affair began — or perhaps it was just reignited. I was walking home from the grocery store with my head down. When I reached a street corner I looked up and saw before me a magnificent sight. Rosy hued clouds, gilded by the sun, filled the sky. They took my breath away. I stamped my feet with frustration when I realized I had no camera to capture them. I was actually forced to pause in my day and simply experience the moment. With bags of groceries forgotten at my feet, I watched until the sun set and the sky grew dark. It was a moment of revelation.

Photo © Cynthia Staples

Ever since that day, I have been journeying forth on Cloud Chasing Expeditions. My kit includes a camera, a notebook, colored pencils, pastels and watercolors, and a bottle of water. After work, and even on my lunch break, I will set out on foot to find a spot on a bench or a grassy hill or a sandy shore. I watch the skies as clouds shift and shimmer, dissipate and reform. While I have yet to see my rosy sky repeated, I have seen many other wonderful sights that have inspired me to write, to paint, to photograph. To be creative.

I challenge you to create your own Cloud Chasing Kit. Better yet, just stop in the course of your day to look up into the sky. Such a simple act may help you, as it did for me, rediscover your sense of wonder in the world. •

Photo © Cynthia Staples

About the Author | More by Cynthia Staples
Cynthia Staples is a freelance writer and photographer. She has written numerous essays, profiles and stories that have appeared in a variety of online and print publications. She finds her inspiration in nature, traveling and in her southern roots. Cynthia's blog is at wordsandimagesbycynthia.wordpress.com.

09/06/07

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