How Fast Are The Clouds Today?

A Bear was sitting on a blanket, in the middle of a big meadow surrounded by trees. She was thinking about why the clouds seem to move faster some days and not other days. Today the clouds were moving quite slowly. There was probably a simple explanation to the phenomenon but what good is a simple explanation to ya if ya don’t know what it is?

A Deer emerged from the tree line surrounding the meadow and saw the Bear sitting in the middle of the field. “Oh fiddlesticks, ” Thought the Deer. He was hoping to have the field all to himself today so he could work on his memoirs. The Deer liked to be the only person around when working on his memoirs. It’s easier to imagine yourself as the most important person around when you’re the only person around.

The Bear saw the Deer approaching and was quick to raise his paw and wave. The Bear wasn’t going to solve the mystery of why clouds move fast some days and not other days on his own so maybe a new friend could help.

The Deer saw the Bear waving him over and hoped he was still far enough away that his mildly annoyed facial expression wouldn’t be apparent to the Bear. Of all the things the Deer had on his “Things I Want To Do” list, chatting with a Bear he didn’t know was dead last (the Deer had made a very thorough list of Things I Want Do which will appear as an appendix in his memoirs).

“Hello, friend!” The Bear yelled to the Deer, “How do you do?”

“I do well,” the Deer replied.

The Deer cringed at her phrasing. ‘I do well?’ He never talked like that. Why did he say it like that now? It seemed the most natural response to the way the Bear was speaking, but completely out of character for the Deer. FIDDLESTICKS TO HELL! Thought the Deer, how can he be the main character if he’s getting pulled into the characteristics of those around him? This day is starting to feel ruined!

As the Deer got closer the Bear shouted “My new friend, may I ask you a question I’ve been pondering today?”

“Um, well…” the Deer hesitated, he didn’t want to talk to the Bear but he couldn’t be the good and upstanding person depicted in his memoir if he just blew him off, “Sure, what is it?”

“Do you have the faintest idea of why the clouds move so quickly some days and not so quickly other days?” The Bear asked.

The Deer sighed, he was in it now, so there was no reason to get out of answering the question. The rest of his day was tied to the Bear.

“I do not,” The Deer replied.

“That’s unfortunate,” said the Bear, “Well, I hope you have a wonderful day I’m having a bit of time for myself today and am truly enjoying it, I hope the same for you.”

The Bear then laid back and looked up at the quick-moving clouds.

The Deer, now more surprised the Bear didn’t want to talk to him anymore set up his blanket and tried to work on his memoir. There was only one problem, and he had to address it immediately…

“Well, do you have any theories on why the clouds move faster some days and not others?” Asked the Deer.

“I think they move faster or slower depending on how you think about yourself in the moment you see them. If you think of yourself as the center of the universe they move very fast because the time you have is so little. But if you think of yourself as a small part of the universe they move slowly because you're in touch with how long any amount of time that you do have really is," the Bear responded.

“Interesting theory,” the Deer replied, rolling his eyes but stopping them briefly to watch the clouds zoom by above him.