Why am I talking about this? About the fleeting nature of life and phenomena? Because yesterday, when I got to walk in my favorite spot, Amancor, with my camera, where I used to encounter the perfect sunset of the Lapyahan coast, this place gave me another view of the sea. Not with orange hues nor with vibrant neon skies, but with a very big and dark smoke. Yes, no sunset, no light, but a monstrous cloud from the upcoming bad weather.
But first, when I arrived, there was a bit of light in the sky in the north part. Where I used to capture sunset, but the sunset was not ripe enough to be picture worthy. Although the orange hues of the sky, which used to meet me until the other day, were apparent, the dark bold clouds were more emphasized in the sky. The contrast between the color’s brightness and darkness was still pleasing to the eyes, as the black sky made a way for the orange light to stand out from time to time.
I sat on the right side of Amancor to face the east part, and that was when I realized the weather was going to be bad that afternoon. And by night, the rain poured, although not heavy, and until today it is still raining. When I faced the east, a very big cloud, unemphasized, was formed above the vast blue sea, which later on turned into black because of the hollow sky. The wind blew colder, another sign of a monstrous bad atmosphere to come in our town. But at those very hours, the weather was still on that part, on standby, carefully scanning the bit of vibrance in our town as if it was planning how to destroy the light of December.
The nearest beach to me is Tan Beach, which I featured once in my blog when I posted a sunset video. There were only few people on the beach who were just sitting there with their earphones to experience the seaside calm.
Speaking of people seeking calm, there were three in the Amancor who were sitting their sanity to the breeze. I was the fourth one when I arrived, and we really had a good spacing from each other as if we were friends who wanted to be together in one place but needed a very big space. One was just listening to music, the other girl afar was eating her food, the boy on the farthest side was sky watching, and there was me holding my camera to spot a good sky. Yeah, it was black but not a bad one. Just a bad weather but not a bad content and view. LOL.
So I will show you my cloud shots I took yesterday, and I hope you enjoy them.
Using my little knowledge of science from elementary and high school, I believe this cloud formation is cumulonimbus clouds. It is towering, wide, and almost eating a town. This type of cloud is typically associated with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. No wonder they occurred by night of yesterday.
Cumulonimbus clouds are often identified by their shape of cauliflower structure. But I am not a meteorologist nor a weather expert, so it is up to you if you believe me or not. A large vertical and bold cotton shape rises above, caused by strong warm air rising from below, that is why it grows upward.
If you look closer at the horizon, the black clouds are obviously heavy, like they are carrying a century of rainwater that did not fall yet. But it is a sign that the cloud bases have a large amount of moisture, or let us say rain, or are still developing the rain.
The clouds appear to expand outward and upward. According to the Google search, cumulonimbus clouds often grow several kilometers high, like this one, reaching cold layers of the atmosphere where ice forms and spreads the top into a flat or spreading appearance. From this process, it gives us prior knowledge of what will happen or how heavy the rain would be when it falls.
Cumulonimbus clouds form during warm days and places, just like our coastal area in Cebu Island and other coastal municipalities, so it would not be a wonder I encountered it. The word comes from Latin meaning pile, and the clouds typically form from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward like it is piling up.
Amidst the weather turning cold in atmosphere and the winds being evidently cool, some were still on the water, talking with their loved one or swimming around. When I go for a walk at the coast, I usually go home by 6 in the night, spending two hours every day, but yesterday I only had 30 minutes of stay because I was worried I might get caught up by the downpour.
View and atmosphere like this are not my usual type of seaside picture. But even though it is completely different from the picturesque and vibrant sunset, I still consider it as beautiful and perfect. It is another type of experience for me and never did I think I had a bad day or timing because of that big smoke I saw.
Life is not always the same and one must be prepared for that always. Fleeting is what the nature of our world is. Today, we might still be seeing the same group of people or the same sea view or a dog that greets us in the street, but one day, they might disappear or suddenly change. The people we were always with will make a path without you in it, the sea view you once adored because of the blue and peaceful ambiance might get colored hollow, and the dog who used to greet you when you go outside might just disappear without your recognition and you will see his name dead on your neighbourhood's backyard. The only thing we have is now, we only have the present. The past and the future are not in our hands, but what is happening in the present owes us the control. Perceive the present in your heart’s content and learn to let go when it passes.
The best way to enjoy the present is to make the most of it and not worry about what happened and what will happen. That was a big smoke indeed I have shown, but it was the gift life gave to me. There is nothing I can do but to adore it and experience its beauty. The same goes to life.