The Gift of Storm Clouds

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of a Storm Clouds

“Grey has no agenda…Grey has the ability, that no other colour has, to make the invisible visible.” 

Roma Tearne

I had to change the name of this little writing because it was flagged when I just called it “The Gift of Grey” 

I have so much on my mind this morning.  As I contemplated what to write about today… or what to pull from that I had written in the past…. This immediately came to mind.  It is a Grey time in life.  I opened my app and read the news.  I stopped quite a while ago actually watching the news.  I wanted to yell at the screen, “Just the facts man!  No commentary!”   Yes, I like the English spelling more than the American spelling.  This crossroad in life has led to more prayer, more contemplation, more discipline.  More just, crying out to God for help… for myself and others.  If every day was roses and parties would that be a way of living?  I would think not.  Once again, God has shown that He gives us gifts to our future selves if we allow Him to do so.  I wrote this last October.   Seeing the news, seeing the struggle that folks are going through.  We have to find that hint of grey.  Today the storm clouds are coming through and rain will appear in the south.  I couldn’t help but admire how the leaves pop in their changing colors on this very grey day.  Find the color in the midst of grey. 

Grey is a muted color, some folks would say.

Grey is boring, dull, and lifeless and speaks of rainy days.

Grey conveys sadness, gloom, and despair. 

Grey means old in some circles and therefore is not worth a care.

But grey is an underrated color that can bring vibrant hues to life.

Verdant green, rosy red, fiery orange, all come to life with the backdrop of grey to cause an explosion of delight.  

Grey means things are not always black and white.  

While other colors have a place on the wheel, grey is a tone that has the ability to shape the way you feel.  Whether that is the growth and renewal of green, or the love and passion of red.  The joy, warmth, and heat of orange.  Grey gives all these colors pronounced appeal.  Grey represents neutrality and balance in daily life, because without the color grey everything would be black and white.  Most of life happens in the tincture of grey that makes the invisible visible to us each and every day.  

Grey, an often overlooked color.  You bring in black, white, red and other colors and grey is sort of an afterthought.  How many times have you heard, “Ugh, it is going to be a grey day today!” It is a very natural and human reaction to repel grey.  Sunshine is wonderful, but so is grey!  Andre Gide once said that the color of truth is grey.  Is it?  I recently read that most of our lives are lived in the grey area. If life was all black and all white that would be a life of complete high times and low times.  When life is going through a time of grey, that means you can be purposeful about the path of your life.  My husband has a saying that has stuck with me for years, “I want to do ordinary things in extraordinary places.”  Social media has given us an overly flawed perception of life.  It is all parties, all trips, all clean houses, all well behaved kids. So much of life is doing ordinary things, the colors come in when we do it in ordinary and extraordinary places.  Sometimes we need to be grey so that others may shine.  In grey we live in truth, purpose, and intention. Small gestures, kind words, and a simple prayer for a fellow human being can help fellow human who is all grey shine with the verdant color of a smile, a feeling of hope or a renewed sense of the beauty of the human spirit.  We need it right now, don’t we? I leave you with the words of Ridley Scott: “Life isn’t black or white.  It’s a million grey areas, don’t you find?”