This morning I woke up early, put on my favorite pink sweats and my new sneakers. I filled up my favorite mug with hot tea and walked down to the beach. I walked about half a mile, and sat down to watch the remainder of the sunrise.

I could see just a little light peeking through the gray clouds. Sitting down on the cement and granite steps, I propped up my phone and put on the time lapse camera. I wanted to film it, but thought it more important to just be in the moment. So glad I did that, it was so much more vibrant in real life. Not to say the video isn’t awesome though! Here it is:

While watching this, I noticed the cloud cover that kept trying to keep the sun at bay. I started to think about the clouds in my life, the stress, difficult relationships, depression, and all the worries that bog me down. I picture the sun as my true and best self trying to push aside the clouds, struggling to break through and shine.

Sometimes the clouds are easily swept aside. Other days, they are more persistent and block the way. But the sun always rises, it always shines through.

Your true self will always shine through the darkest clouds, and now and then, you’ll have some cloudless skies where you feel like you can be yourself. On the cloudy days, keep shining, because the clouds will pass. Besides, sunlight passing through clouds can make for some colorful skies and even rainbows!