Here’s an observation; most people walk around with their heads down. What about you? I’m not sure why that’s the case, maybe they’re feeling sad, depressed, lost, alone, or just getting through the day doing the best they can. All I know is this; life gets better when we look up.
When we look down, there’s not much to see other than things that are not that exciting. When I look down, I see my feet, and whilst I like my feet, it’s not doing much for me. When I look down and I see the ground, largely polluted with garbage, it’s quite depressing. When I look down, I start to get pain in the back of my neck. When I look down, I can’t see where I’m going, and I definitely can’t see possibilities that Life has to offer for me. So again, I really want to encourage you to look up.
I remember many years ago flying into Kathmandu, Nepal. I was with a group of friends, and we were going to trek through the Himalayas. As we were approaching and preparing to land, the person I was sitting next to prompted me to have a look at the mountains. I looked out the window, looking down expecting to see them. But when I looked down, I couldn’t see anything except clouds. He elbowed me and said, no not down there, look up. I looked up, way above the plane and the clouds, and there was the peak of Mount Everest and the Himalayas. It was awe inspiring and gave me a shiver up and down my spine.
The other week I had one of those amazing experiences as I was training at the beach one morning. This happens for me only once or twice every single year. I am blessed to see dolphins swim by, only metres from the shore. I looked up and I saw them. Not one, not 2, but three pods of dolphins, and I was so excited.
As I was watching most people walk past, guess where their heads were? Down, in their phones, missing the joy and beauty that was there for them to enjoy if only they looked up. My greatest urge for you this week is to make the most of everything that this beautiful life and world has to offer. The only way you’ll do it is to look up.
Did you know that your mental, emotional and physical state has a lot to do with your posture? Did you know that when you look up, you significantly improve your well-being. When you look up, many things shift. Your mood improves, your concentration improves, you are more creative, and you are able to find and see different perspectives to solve problems. In addition to that, it’s much easier to find moments of awe & wonder, be more mindful, and really connect to the world around.
As you can tell, these things are going to definitely help your physical well-being, your relationship with others, your ability to deal with challenges, and your vision for the future you want to have. All it takes is a decision to look up. Look up to see the beauty that’s around you. Look up to see the sky, the trees, and the different colours that this world provides. Look up to see people‘s faces and the smiles that you can bring to them. Look up and know that you are good enough.
Trust me, when you look up, your life will get better in every respect.
To help you on this journey, please enjoy my two podcasts this week. I speak with Jonathon Aslay in a podcast called Getting the vibe, and I speak with Sue Carr in a podcast called Start from strength. It’s such a simple thing to do, also a simple thing not to do. Be deliberate this week to lift your head, lift your eyes, and look up to see the beauty that’s all around.