What Sees the Gray Sky Is Something Within Me

For many people who come to Hawaii, perhaps one of the first things to touch their hearts is this pleasant breeze.
It is the same for people who have lived here for a long time.
The trade winds that blow across Hawaii are part of our lives all year round, bringing us refreshing, cooling air.

Yet at times, the wind and the rain show an entirely different face.

This year, too, there were times in Hawaii when fierce wind and rain left many people facing anxiety and hardship.
Across the world as well, many things are happening—natural disasters among them—that make us feel there is nothing we can do.

At times like these,
people sometimes ask me,
“With so many difficult things happening in the world, is it all right for me to clean only on myself?”

I, too, as I was cleaning on what recently happened here in Hawaii, remembered the words of Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, who taught me Ho’oponopono long ago.

“Look at yourself.”
“Whatever happens outside, first look within yourself.”

She would say this again and again.

Every day, I clean on the weather.

You may be wondering,
“What does it mean to clean on the weather?”

Of course, I am not trying to change the sky, the rain, or the wind themselves.
What I clean is always myself.

When I wake up in the morning and look out the window,
sometimes I see a blue sky and feel happy.
Other times, I see a cloudy sky and somehow feel my spirits sink.

When I see rain,
thoughts like these sometimes come up:
“Ugh, not today.”
“My plans are going to be ruined.”
“Rain again?”

So, is that “gloomy feeling” something the cloudy sky has given us?
Is the weather itself shaping how we feel?

In Ho’oponopono, we are taught that what shapes our experience is the memories within us.
The sky being gray is not the same thing as what happens within me when I see that gray sky.
Seeing the same rain, some people feel gloomy, while others feel relieved.
Even with the same wind, there are times we find it pleasant and times it makes us uneasy.
Whatever is happening within us in that moment—
that is where there is something to clean.

As I look at the cloudy sky,
I return to myself by asking,
“What is happening within me right now, as I experience this sky?”

And the same is true when I face a major event.

“What is happening within me right now, as I experience this event?”

Fear.
Anger.
Helplessness.
Sadness.
The urge to blame someone.
The restless feeling that I have to do something.

Before judging these as good or bad, I first notice what is happening within me.
And I clean.
That is what I can do.

It does not matter whether a problem is big or small.
Whether it is a small discomfort in daily life or an event that seems far beyond anything I could ever resolve, I myself am always there within that experience.

That is exactly why, when I face what is happening outside, I first look at myself.
This does not mean ignoring what is happening outside.
Nor does it mean stepping away from the reality in front of me.
Rather, it means not seeing the world only through the reactions of my own memories, but receiving what is truly needed here and now.

When I am wrapped in a pleasant breeze and feeling happy.
When I see a gray sky and feel my spirits sink.
When I am facing an event I feel I can do nothing about.
Before looking at what is happening outside, I first try looking at what is happening within me.

“Look at yourself.”

Those words, which Morrnah shared with me again and again, are what I still return to today.
Every morning, beginning with a look at the day’s weather, I can be set free from memories.