Cloudwatching: The Joy of Life's Small Things

Just another challenging day in the life...

As I was running my in-town errands today, my car started running rather hot.

Sidetracked into the (thankfully nearby) auto supply store parking lot to buy a gallon of coolant to top off the tank which was — admittedly — a tad low. But not as worrisome as a small amount of dripping fluid coming from the engine area.

Hoping to limp home, I only managed to make it the half mile or so down the road to the much larger supermarket parking lot before the engine started overheating again so the only remaining option was to quickly park in an easily accessible spot and to call the auto service for a tow to the mechanic who usually works on this vehicle.

Not a very happy making state of affairs, given that about $2,800 has already been spent on this very same problem, including on an incidence of a mistake being made and having to be corrected.

By some small miracle, the roadside assistance folks actually had a free truck not that far away, so they promised the wait would not be too long.

But at least it was a nice day, and with little to do except wait and ruminate on the state of my world, I determined the best way to not have a frustration-related aneurysm would be to "find quiet" and meditate a bit.

Notwithstanding the fact that I found myself in the parking lot at a busy corner with a traffic light and lots of traffic and noise.

Look up!

Clouds really can be quite beautiful.

Sure, we tend to get annoyed with them on days we want sunshine for our gardens or picnics or beach trips, but they can also be very restful and even serene places to rest our eyes when things seem like they are boiling over.

As they seemed to be, in my life. At least at that moment... and recently, in general.

As I contemplated the late afternoon clouds from my somewhat miserable situation, I had a memory of watching clouds with my Auntie when I was a little kid, sitting on the back terrace... her telling me to just watch the clouds drifting by, as a way to settle my eternally roaming mind.

It worked, of course, and I learned how to have an appreciation for simple daily things like pretty clouds. I might have been 5-6 years old, at the time. Life seemed a lot more hopeful back then... but even today I recognize how I can find moments of tranquility in the middle of this chaos we call "life."

I won't claim that watching clouds took away all my worries about a broken down car, but it definitely did help! And it was also a worthy reminder of the value of temporarily shifting our attention from our worries to something more peaceful, as a way to cope with life's stressful moments.

True to their promise, the roadside assistance guy arrived within minutes — rather than hours — and off went the Jeep to the auto shop, for the 3rd time in as many months. Hopefully this trip will not cost the grand national debt!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great remainder of your weekend!

How about you? Do you have something that helps you calm down during life's challenging moments? What is it? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2025.05.31 13:54 PDT
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