The sky is the sky. It is unconditioned by the clouds that pass through it. The clouds produce effects that condition life on the ground, but the sky remains the sky regardless of clouds or not.
The ocean is the ocean. It seems to be unaffected by that which is put into it or that which passes through it, but that is illusion. For example, the ocean being a saline solution should be neutral or slightly alkaline in its pH. Due to pollution and plastic and such, the ocean is now acidic which is detrimental to all that live in the ocean. The point is that the ocean, though seemingly vast and unaffected by that which permeates or passes through it, is.
We are like the sky and the ocean. As Awareness, we are like the sky. Awareness is unconditioned by the daily events in our lives, by the circumstances that come and go, by the arising of love or desire or pride or aggression, by the deflation of doubt or worry or abuse or antipathy. As pure Beingness or Awareness-AS-It-Is, we, too, are vast, limitless, and unconditioned by the temporary vicissitudes of life.
But we also are like the ocean. As incarnated beings, we live in the realms and reality of cause and result, of conditioned existence, and of living according to perceived conditions. Similar to the ocean, small detriments can loom large and small improvements can produce vast cascades of benefit.
As we complete Step 7, Interlude, we reflect upon ourselves in our skylike and oceanlike nature and qualities.
Downloadable podcast: Entry: sky and ocean