Seeing the Clouds Move l

By Ubah Mohamoud
When I was younger, I took many things for face value: leaves were green, fire burned, candy tasted yummy, and perfume smelled nice. I don’t remember ever questioning why certain things were the way they were—in depth at least—and I just sort of accepted whatever I perceived as being the ultimate truth. Which is why, when I glanced up at the sky, I saw blue and white—sky and clouds.
However as I was staring upwards one day, I noticed something: the clouds were moving. I was amazed. I mean for me, clouds were nothing more than the static, fluffy masses that I drew in art class. But as I focused on the sky above me, I was dazzled not only by their movement, but at the speed at which they floated across the sky! I remember measuring the cloud movement against still objects like trees and houses, and spending countless amounts of time memorizing the positions of clouds to confirm that they were shifting. I was astonished.
Up until that moment, I had never stopped to actually comprehend the full magnificence of clouds. I had never paused to watch them move, and thus, had never seen them actually move.  That’s why I assumed that they didn’t. But it was only when I stood still and comprehended the glorious white sheets above me that I noticed how they danced to the tune of the wind. It was, and still is. a beautiful sight.
Seeing the clouds move took concentration and focus – and these are things we need in our lives. This is because we take so many experiences, issues, and circumstances that we go through at face value without searching for deeper meanings. We fail to ask ourselves: is this a test from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala(exalted is He)? Is this a punishment? And thus, we continue to miss both the subtle and blatant signs He sends us. As a result, we fail to learn and grow from whatever we go through and lose hope in our situation without realizing that so many people, all around the globe, are going through the same thing. So, as a child fails to notice clouds moving, we fail to realize how dynamic and enriched our lives truly are.
We should look around and try to see the signs of Allah (swt)—whether they be in our lives or even in ourselves—and take a moment to ruminate over the movement we finally begin to perceive.