Stop and Snap the Clouds

The other day, my ever-so demanding dog insisted that he needed a walk to relieve himself (despite the fact that we had already been out once that week). As soon as I left the building I realized that the weather was unstable. The sky to the east was ominous, dark, and foreboding. Once I got beyond the building I looked up and discovered a truly wondrous sight. I hate to sound so gushy, but it really was amazing. A massive cloud had formed--it would be more accurate to say it was forming-- directly overhead.

Because of the time of day and the location, the cloud climbed to ridiculous heights and could be seen rapidly growing and expanding. The position of the sun was such that the sky to the west was a brilliant blue. As for the cloud, the base was a cotton candy pink, above this was a deep purple, above that a baby blue. Going further up the massive column you saw an impressive amber. Finally a the very top the billowing reaches were a brilliant white.

It was huge, it was beautiful, it was extremely dynamic... but would it be noticed?

I observed a bevy of people coming and going without paying one iota's attention to the painting in the sky. Then it happened. A woman wearing a smart suit and tennis shoes, carrying three bags: one a purse, one a brief case, and one (I assume) a change of clothes and shoes, listening to her MP3 player and texting on her cell as she power walked out of the city, caught my eye. She was a 20 or 30 something urban clone: in a hurry, weighed down with a host of varying responsibilities and interests, and digitally connected to everything.

Suddenly she came to a screeching halt, ended her text, and aimed her phone at the sky. She stopped walking, she changed her behavior, and she took a picture of the amazing cloud with her cell phone.

For a moment, a fleeting moment, she was a part of the world and not just its victim. I thought this was rather amazing. It occurred to me that this was the 21st century version of stopping to smell the roses. In our harried, connected, multi-tasking world, taking a second or two to snap a photo of an amazing display of nature seemed worthy of comment, and encouragement.