Clouds

Clouds are a common symbol in our language. We hear phrases like “clouded judgment” and we quip that all clouds have a silver lining. We communicate a man’s condition by saying that he is “on cloud nine,” that he “has his head in the clouds,” or that he has a “cloud hanging over him.” We predict danger by claiming that there are “dark clouds on the horizon” and find someone “under a cloud of suspicion,” all while using our Apple iCloud and watching Cloud Atlas or A Walk in the Clouds. Clouds are used to express sadness, joy, suspicion, anger, distraction, and—often negatively—confusion.

Yet, it is within this "cloud of confusion" where learning can begin to take place; for in addition to curiosity, confusion is a beginning point where people are motivated to learn, to break through the fog to gain understanding. Just as important, I am convinced that those who succeed, who have labored and waded through the fog to gain knowledge, find that knowledge more valuable than those who did not need to. It is this quality, in fact, this determination to overcome-- to learn in the face of difficulty-- that can lift one from the cloud of uncertainty and confusion into the sun of confidence and knowledge.*

*Of course, it is worth noting that sometimes one finds higher, denser clouds there when one searches more deeply into a matter, given the complexity of some issues. Still, that person, though lacking complete certainty, can still speak with some certainty on those things he or she does know.