Clouds: from Both Sides Now

/ Jodi
november clouds 2

November Clouds – McKinney Home, Mars, PA

After posting my November Clouds photo and post yesterday, a very dear friend sent me this YouTube video early in the morning saying it was a “cloud song to go with my pic.”

Well, I got busy working and didn’t have a chance to listen to it until Charlie and I went for our lunch time walk.

The air was a bit cooler than it has been the past few days, but 55 degrees F is still pretty lovely for late November here in Mars.

So with my iPhone in hand and Charlie leading the way down our usual path, I hit “play.”

I then hit “play” five more times while we walked a few miles.

I had forgotten how much I love this song.

Or did I just realize how much I love this song?

Joni Mitchell wrote “Both Sides Now” in 1967 (I was only 4-5 years old), and recorded it in 1969 on her second album entitled, “Clouds.”

Needless to say, I was a bit young to truly appreciate it at that time.  It is, however, #171 in Rolling Stone’s Top 500  greatest songs of all time.

So I listened to the words yesterday – – –  over and over – – – and I found such deep meaning, such contentment, such freedom and liberation …

Next month, I will turn 53.  Still hard to believe, but I also realize I am on the “other side” of life.

I am obviously past “middle age” as I surely don’t expect to see 106!

And it has taken me a while to believe and “accept” this “stage” of life – this “over 50” stage…  But somehow, somewhere, at some point, it all became clear.  It all became fine.  It all became great!

It all became real and wonderful and the best time of life.

I’ve had my teens and twenties and thirties and every wonderful and  not-so-wonderful thing that comes with each of those stages.  When 50 came, I mourned it a bit.

I can’t pinpoint exactly when or why or how it happened, but I became content – even happy – maybe happier than ever – with this phase of life.

I’ve seen life and love and even clouds – from both sides now.

And life is clearer.

Life has more meaning.

Life is sweeter.

Clouds are “bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air.”

They have also “blocked the sun and rained and snowed on everyone.”

But – “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow it’s cloud illusions I recall.  I really don’t know clouds at all.”

And I LOVE that!

I’ve also seen love and life from “both sides now.”

From “give and take”

From “win and lose”

And maybe I don’t have all of the answers….

But I realize that even though “something’s lost…”

there is still….

“something gained in living every day.”

And I am cherishing every single one…

from this side now.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

“I have always thought of myself as a painter derailed by circumstance” – Joni Mitchell (June, 2000)

Hmmmmmm……

PS Thank you, Dick! ❤

39 thoughts on “Clouds: from Both Sides Now”

  3. I agree, 50+ is fabulous, and I too flipped the calendar recently and thought I am so good in my own skin, warts and all. This age is all about wisdom and being content, the road we travel makes us who we are and its pretty darn great. Funny I had the same thought, I will not make 110 so I’m way past mid-life! Its all good! Making the most of everyday and living in the moment may be the key!

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  10. Love that song. I was a little older than you when this came out but remember it very well. These lyrics are like poetry set to music; I enjoy finding new meaning in them whenever I listen. Thanks for the trip down memory lane..:)

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    • Awesome! Besties are the best for bringing that out in us – eh? I have one of those two and being together takes me back to being 13 and sleepovers and all of the sillyness that went with it! 🙂

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  12. Lovely post ~ photo, song and sentiment. I’m much closer to 70 than 50 and I still cherish every single day. I feel like the same person I was at 20, without all the drama.

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  13. What a beautiful perspective on aging! Isn’t it odd that as our bodies begin to deteriorate, our sense of self grows so much stronger? Maybe happiness and contentment are something that only come with time.
    But I still think that you can call yourself middle aged. Here’s the way I look at it: the first phase our our lives, (childhood, youth and young adulthood) are from birth to age thirty. The second phase (middle age) is from 30 to 60. The third, and final phase is 60 to 90ish, depending, of course on how long our individual lifespan is. So, by that reasoning, at 53, you are still middle aged!
    Thanks for a great post!

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