A Route Back To Wonder
Une route de retour à l’émerveillement-- de Fabiana Fondevila
“Qu’est-ce qu’un coucher de soleil sans nuages ? Un cercle qui traverse une ligne droite, » dit Gavin Pretor-Pinney, fondateur du Cloud Appreciation Society, créateur d’une forme originale d’activisme et d’un manifeste qui commence par : « Nous croyons que les nuages sont injustement diffamés et que la vie serait incommensurablement plus pauvre sans eux. »
Les nuages ? Pourraient-ils vraiment être un motif d’activisme ? A première vue, cela pourrait sembler curieux que quelqu’une veuille dévouer sa vie à convaincre ses congénères terriens de regarder en haut et de s’émerveiller devant le spectacle des altocumulus, altostratus et cumulonimbus. Mais il nous suffit de revenir à notre enfance pour comprendre. Qui d’entre nous n’a pas passé de longs moments, allongé sur l’herbe à identifier des lapins, des montagnes, des licornes dans les formes fantaisistes dessinées dans le ciel ? Qui n’a pas été surpris de voir comment ces images se transformaient elles-mêmes à chaque moment devant nos yeux ? Ou peut-être qu’une meilleure question serait : Quand est-ce que les nuages ont arrêté de nous captiver ? Quand est-ce que l’on a arrêté de lever nos yeux au ciel ?
Les nuages ont toujours été une source d’inspiration et d’émerveillement. Ce n’est pas pour rien qu’ils apparaissent dans les œuvres d’art au travers des siècles. En commençant par la Renaissance, ils devinrent même des métaphores pour le divin. Mais pourquoi devrions-nous, en tant qu’adultes, apprendre à revivre la tête dans les nuages ? Par pur bon sens, parce qu’identifier les formes et types de nuages nous permettent de prédire les chances de pluie et de savoir si nous pouvons prévoir une averse de grêle, ou une légère mais permanente bruine qui va permettre à la mousse de pousser à des endroits inattendus. Ce serait en effet une bonne raison d’observer les nuages. Mais cela érafle à peine la surface de leur potentiel.
Nous ne voulons pas regarder les nuages pour prédire le temps. Nous voulons les regarder pour rêver à nouveau et nous rappeler la magie qui nous entoure à chaque pas. Nous voulons retrouver en eux une route de retour à l’émerveillement. « C’est le temps que vous avez gâché pour vos roses qui donne à vos roses autant d’importance, » dit le Petit Prince d’Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Gâchons du temps pour apprendre à aimer le monde, chaque jour, un petit peu plus et mieux. Gâchons notre temps pour ce qui est vraiment important !
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Questions pour faire germer la réflexion : Comment vous identifiez-vous à l’appel à voir dans les nuages une route de retour à l’émerveillement ? Pouvez-vous partager une histoire personnelle d’une fois où vous étiez capables de vous perdre dans l’émerveillement du monde ? Qu’est-ce qui vous aide à garder la capacité à vous émerveiller et à ne pas vous abandonner dans le cynisme ?
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Cloud Appreciation Society : Club d’appréciation des nuages
Fabiana Fondevila is an author, storyteller, ritual maker, activist, and teacher from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Excerpted from Where Wonder Lives.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the exhortation to find in the clouds a route back into wonder? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to lose yourself in wonder of the world? What helps you retain the capacity to wonder and not give in to cynicism?
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12 Past Reflections
On Jan 29, 2021 Phatma wrote :
The sweetness of toddlers...they cry after crying...they automatically become joyful and exhuberate...the cloud of tears and a little nagging is just at the surface...but deep in the toddlers what you find is joy ...love and tenderness...that gives me strength to retain wonder and refuse to go into cynicism...nature is beautiful...when you allow to look deep into the world...you will never cease to wonder...Thank you so very much Fabiana...this piece is deeply inspiring!...
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On Oct 5, 2020 Bradley wrote :
Often times I'm moved to share a weekly reading with my students. I thought this one might particularly serve the younger generation. After reading it, and reflecting on some things that happened to her this past week, she responded with a poem. I asked her and she said she'd be honored if I shared it with you:
growing up » october 2, 2020
a curious doggy drifts across the vast blue
chasing an old woman with an umbrella?
or maybe it was a witch pursuing a clue.
it’s hard to tell what the white puffs spell,
but we giggle anyway and think they’re true
because the clouds are our own seashells.
until we grow up, grow out of imagination
and the heavens fade to weather stations.
the crisp navy of fresh denim carries a thrill
of feeling the holes close and a chapter begin.
we take cute snaps and flaunt our bills,
proud to wear fashion’s “new big thing.â€
but soon we miss that comfortable drill
of stretchy fabric that seems to mold our skin... [View Full Comment]
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On Oct 1, 2020 Mary wrote :
I was sitting watching a bee the other day,then spotted a butterfly, and moved on to browsing among the flowers in my garden...then a squirrel trying to get some of the bird seed, birds following, a cat, the trees and plants, the blue clue sky, the sun shining while disappearing in and out between the clouds, and the moving clouds puffy puffs obscuring the sun,... and then sensing, with absolute wonder ...that I am living amongst all this...
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On Sep 30, 2020 Evelyn wrote :
Everything about this lifts my spirits. I love to walk and look up at the sky.
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On Sep 29, 2020 Marcia Perryman wrote :
Clouds are really wonderful in Canada at this time of year and I loved the idea of wonder. Wonder requires stillness and silence with no purpose or agenda. Wonder is dreaming for a gentler world and pondering what we can do to support that movement. Wonder is also appreciating the people that comment regularly on these pieces and encourage others to join the conversation.
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On Sep 29, 2020 Deven Shah wrote :
Growing up in India, clouds always have so many positive connotations for me. I appreciate clouds for what they do and bring.
In this article, I loved the connection betweenthe clouds and the magicand dreams and the sense of what is important in my life.
In this article, I loved the connection betweenthe clouds and the magicand dreams and the sense of what is important in my life.
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On Sep 29, 2020 Jill wrote :
My friend sent your newsletter to me this morning because I told her last night that I'd taken my yoga mat and pillow outside. I put it on the grass and lay looking up at the clouds just as I had done as a child. How serendipitous for this to arrive today! Thank you!
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On Sep 29, 2020 Suzannah wrote :
Ever since I was a child, lying on my back in the grass,I would stare up at the clouds and imagine all sorts of wonders. I don't believe I ever stopped and, although I adore a brilliant blue sky, I would not want ever to be without the myriad of always changing shapes in the clouds.
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On Sep 28, 2020 Anilkumar Pandit wrote :
'Cloud' is now even more inspirational, as it can take the form as wished by anyone and such forms can be shared worldwide.
Just upload and download our wish or creations !!
Just upload and download our wish or creations !!
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On Sep 26, 2020 David Doane wrote :
Clouds are not the only place to find a route back into wonder, but clouds are definitely a place. What comes to mind as an outstanding time I lost myself in the wonder of the world was in viewing the Grand Canyon. Also coming to mind is my getting lost in a star-filled sky one night outside Zion National Park. Both experiences occurred a couple years ago and both were awesome and full of wonder for me. In both experiences, my wonder overrode and overwhelmed any cynicism in me. What helps me experience wonder as I am with whoever or whatever is being in the present, having no goal or purpose except to be with and experience, being mindful and giving my full attention. The sense of being one with or part of whoever or whatever is also a part of wonder that I experience.
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On Sep 25, 2020 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
Looking at the clouds floating in the sky is very fascinating to me. I felt this fascination as a child. The sky was a paly house. The clouds of different shapes coming and going were the actors filling my heart with wonder, delight and inspiration.Watching the play of the clouds made me wonder where they are coming from and where they are going. I expressed my wonderment in a poem that I wrote in my mother tongue. " Kon,Vadalanipachalachhupatu?" Whois hiding behind the clouds?" Sadly, our contact with nature has been diminished as we are getting more amd more urbanized. Occasionally we may look at the wonders of nature. Taking time out to see the wonders of nature has been a deeply enriching experiencefor me. I appreciate what Fabiana Fonderila says:"Let'swaste time learning to love the world, everyday, a little bit more and better. Let's waste time on what is truly important."
A few years ago, we were traveling in Colorado. We were on the top of a mo... [View Full Comment]