The Stars Above the Clouds

A child once asked her grandmother: "Where do the stars go when it's cloudy?"

The grandmother smiled. "They do not go anywhere. They are always there, shining as brightly as ever. The clouds simply hide them from our view."

"So the stars never stop shining?" the child asked.

"Never. Not for a single moment. Even during the worst storm, every star is burning in its place. We just cannot see them because the clouds are in the way."

The child thought about this. "Is that like being sad? The happy feelings are still there, but the sad feelings are like clouds?"

The grandmother hugged her. "Exactly like that. Your joy, your peace, your inner light, they never go away. Sometimes clouds pass over them. But they are always there, waiting for you to look up again."

In meditation, we practice looking above the clouds. We learn to trust that the stars are shining, even when we cannot see them.