Cielos

I've been thinking a lot lately about the word cielo, which directly translated, means "sky," whereas el cielo means "heaven." Our sky today was quite blustery and overcast (cielo cubierto), but we persevered to travel to Segovia and Ávila, southwest of Madrid.


However, if you were to say cielo raso, it means "ceiling." As we've traveled around, I've been particularly enamored with the ceilings in the castles and cathedrals. So how are all these variations on the word connected?

It's simple: look up. Look up from the ground, you're not going to trip. Look up from your problems, they're quite miniscule. Look beyond your own abilities to a power far beyond your own. Look up.

I like to think that the artisans working on the design of these religious structures and elaborate fortifications had this metaphor in mind. If you don't take the time to look up, you might miss what could possibly be the best part. But then again, if you don't know that it's there, maybe something will always be missing for you. So with the help of a blog that finally decided to let me show you pictures, I will show you the cielos of the past few days. It doesn't really matter where they're all from, but ¡cielos! (good heavens!) I assure you they're all beautiful.