Take Time for the Clouds with Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Gentle Finds

What could be more gentle than a cloud? A soft, puffy marshmallow world in the sky: gentle to the eye and gentle to the spirit.
While so many of us feel out of sync with the fast-paced expectations of our society, sometimes it's hard to know how to slow down and just "be." Some of us may have the occasional idea there must be something out there that's more in tune with our own rhythm, something slower-paced. Gavin Pretor-Pinney's advice? It's simple. LOOK. UP. The sky and it's visual landscape is ever-present in your life, always offering a new picture to spark your imagination.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney's career has been dedicated to showing us the value in slowing down, dreaming, and giving our minds the space to imagine. Before founding The Cloud Appreciation Society, he co-founded The Idler magazine. The Idler Magazine's manifesto says, "it is in our idleness that we become who we are....inaction is the well-spring of creation."
On a trip to Rome, he realized he missed the visual variation of London's cloudy days. And from this realization, The Cloud Appreciation Society was born. He has since written several books about clouds, and has a way of bringing to our attention a part of our everyday lives, sitting there just waiting to be noticed for its awe-inspiring beauty and science. He reminds us to slow down, notice, appreciate, enjoy, and let our minds wander.
Gavin rightly points out that just because something is aimless does not make it pointless. There is value in considering clouds. Deciding to spend 5 minutes a day appreciating them is free and available to us all. This appreciation is a way to intentionally pull yourself out of the frenzy of modern life, a way to be gentle to your spirit, and make space for new kinds of thinking. Give it a try. As Gavin says, "allow your imagination to drift in the breeze."
Connect with The Cloud Appreciation Society:
Website ➡️ https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/
----CONTENT ----------------------
00:00 Introduction
00:28 - The Cloud Appreciation Society Manifesto
1:31 - Introducing Gavin Pretor-Pinney
2:08 - Gavin's Magazine: The Idler
4:15 - Blue skies in Rome
12:55 - Clouds: the human experience
17:32 - Cloudys: variety, wellbeing and imagination
28:25 - The Cloud Appreciation Society
37:35 - Cloudspotter the word
40:12 - How to start cloudspotting
43:13 - Has Gavin seen every type of cloud?
44:56 - The Cloudspotter's Guide
45:53 - Traveling across the world for a cloud
50:04 - Become a member of The Cloud Appreciation Society
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----About Gentle Finds----
Gentle Finds was founded on the idea that each one of us plays a part in creating the world we live in through the choices we make. In our relationships, the work we do, and the products we buy, our everyday movements leave a mark, for better or worse, and Gentle Finds is here to help you leave a gentler mark. Every two weeks I find a gentle inspiration to share with you, with practical tips about how we can be nicer to ourselves, each other, our bodies, and our environment. Subscribe, follow, and start your gentle journey today!

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