THE HUMAN
NATURE ISSUE


What do you see in the clouds?

Open your eyes, open your mind and let the clouds speak to you

Against a crisp blue sky, pearly wisps of water droplets often condense to form incredibly vivid shapes. These clouds are much more than simply vapour; the images we project onto them can provide fascinating insight into the human psyche.

Take a moment to examine the cloud pictured here. Stare at it. Ruminate on it. Fall a little in love with it, if you so wish. Once you’ve clearly identified what exactly the image means to you, read on to discover the meaning of what you see in the clouds...

The face of a dragon with kind eyes baring its teeth

You deeply feel all the small inadequacies of daily life. But righteous anger is a crutch you use to hide what’s really at the heart of your emotions: you’ve finally become old enough to spot all the flaws in your mommy and daddy and how they raised you, and now you can’t look at them the same way again. The stress of this discovery is flooding into all the other areas of your life. No one cares about roommate agreements as much as you do. One deviation from your joint cleaning schedule is enough for you to unleash several fire blasts. Unfortunately, your anger is justified—even though it's misdirected, it's coming from a very real place. This makes it a difficult, deep-rooted issue to solve. But maybe your mommy knows what to do.

A half-melted plastic bottle of melatonin gummies

The greatest, purest desire in your life is sleep. You’re in a constant state of craving it. Every step you take is a subconscious action aimed at getting you closer to that point in the day where you can pass out. But your intoxicated infatuation with sleep is really just plain toxic. What lengths would you go to if someone were to disturb your sleep schedule? Would you maim them with a weighted blanket? Launch your sun lamp at their head? You’re an incredibly passionate person, but you need more hobbies to dilute this intense concentration of your energy. Consider taking up stamp-collecting; it's a perfectly peaceful activity that will productively consume your thoughts, with the added bonus of putting you right to sleep.

A rat with the head of Ryan Reynolds driving a Mustang

The meaning of this is simple despite its complexity: you’re truly content with your relationship status. Whether you’re single or partnered, you feel at peace. In fact, you’re so content that you almost feel superior to everyone else you know who is still unhappy with their significant other, or lack thereof. Actually, it's not exactly superiority; it's more like intense derision. They all seem so needy, so desperate to you. You were never that pathetic when you weren’t happy with your love life, you think. And to an extent, you’re right! You’re better than all of them—otherwise you would still be them. Your outlook is well-founded.

Something vaguely sexual

This could mean one of two things. It’s very possible that you’re just a regular human being who sometimes sees banal objects or images and thinks they look somewhat sexual. It’s very possible that this is a totally harmless interpretation which has nothing to do with your psyche, your interests or what drives you to act the way you do. It’s very possible that there’s nothing wrong with you, nothing wrong with you at all. But if you see something vaguely sexual in this cloud, it is also very possible that your pelvic floor is currently prolapsing, and you need to seek medical attention immediately.

An airplane that’s missing a wing

You’re seeking the one big change that will finally take you to the Next Big Step in your life, but you can’t help but feel like you’re stuck in transit. A sense of restlessness keeps you in a constant state of discomfort. The only thing that will calm you down is when you finally accept that you’re just as clueless as everyone else you know. Deep down, absolutely nobody knows what they’re really doing, whether they’re a PhD candidate, neurosurgeon or airplane pilot. Everyone is just trying to get by and they could all completely snap at any given moment. Take comfort in that!

A cup of tea being heated up in the microwave

You’re an agent of chaos. You were born in the darkness, moulded by it, and couldn’t care less about deviating from social norms. In moments of devastation, you struggle to fight the urge to giggle. To you, there’s no such thing as the unthinkable. No line is uncrossable. There is no love in your life and you like it that way.

A butterfly

You are deeply, deeply unimaginative.
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