We all have our less-than-glorious moments, or days, or maybe whole parts of our lives that we’d rather forget.

How do these things fit into our definition of ourselves?

It’s easy to be hard on ourselves—to become overtaken by our emotions, our behavior and our thoughts. So much so that we think that those things define who we are.

It’s harder—requires more compassion towards ourselves—to see that we are not just the sum of what have done and felt in the past, or even in this moment. We are also our limitless potential.

In my less mindful moments, I often catch myself thinking about my inabilities, my flaws, my contradicting and often extreme emotions—and thinking that that these things define me. But if I step back and look at myself from the outside I see that these are exterior and transient things—not firmly attached to my true self.

It is not unlike the weather.

Sometime a storm comes in suddenly, clouds close in and the rain pours down, or the wind blows with such vigor that it tears things apart.

But under all that—under the clouds of sadness, the winds of rage and the rains of melancholy—there is the always the sky. Wide and blue and clear. Present behind and throughout the storms. And when they pass, revealed again. The sky never left, it was always there, always constant—waiting out the weather.

I say this not as a lesson, but as a reminder—to myself as much as anyone else. A much needed reminder.

When it rains there is still the sky.

When our actions, or the actions of our past, are harsher than we would like them to be, there is still sky. When love is nowhere to be seen and the world blows us in every direction, against our will, there is still only sky underneath it. Vaster and more open than our mind can fully comprehend.

The key to uncover the sky within us is to find it in quiet moments of self.

Whether it is through meditation, long walks outdoors or yoga and exercise, we can find ways to undercover our sky on a daily basis. Then, for the rest of the day, we can remember those moments and go back to them when the sky is hard to find in the seeming storm of daily life.

If we have moments that we aren’t proud of, or we act in a way that is unkind or immature, we can go a little easier on ourselves—remind ourselves of the good we have done and the good we plan to do. Remember the love we have given and still have to give.

We all have unflattering moments. They round us out as humans and remind us of the work we still have to do improving ourselves. Not improving ourselves to become perfect, but rather just to become more open, more welcoming, more accepting—both inwardly and outwardly. To find clarity and let light shine through.

As the sky’s openness is the source of the sun, which gives life and light to every living being, so can we be a source of light for the world.

There is a sun glowing deep down inside us and it need just needs the clouds to pass to shine through.

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Check out the rest of our Mindful Life Illustrated comic series:

>>The Mindful Life Illustrated: A Chance to Be.

>>The Mindful Life Illustrated: Still My Friend.

>>The Mindful Life Illustrated: People We Don’t Want to Love.

>>The Mindful Life Illustrated: Make Time to Play.

>>The Mindful Life Illustrated: Forgiving Others & Ourselves.

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Author & Artist: Mike Medaglia

Editor: Khara-Jade Warren

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