Don't look out...look up

Life is unpredictable. One day everything looks great, we’re out mowing the grass, chauffeuring the kids around town or paying the bills when we’re blindsided by things like cancer, job loss or death of a loved one. We find ourselves flattened like a soda can on the pavement. In times like these, we yearn for comfort and peace, but don’t know where to turn.

The first thing we can do is look up.

Colin Ellard, Ph.D., and author of the article “Look Up: The Surprising Joy of Raising Your Gaze” believes certain areas of our brains are stimulated when we look up. These areas are thought to be where we plan artistic creations, ponder, dream and pray. By looking up, we engage these centers and enable them to help us work through our problems and see more encouraging outcomes.

Looking up gives us something other than our problems to think about

When we look up we see white clouds floating on the wind. We notice tree branches dancing in the breeze. We can gaze at chirping birds soaring through uncluttered space. We hear their lilting songs. The inhabitants of the sky seem to move at slow, peaceful speeds compared to us earth dwellers. These sights, sounds and colors offer a brief respite from our worries.

Looking up allows us to see beyond our physical boundaries

When we look up we see the infinite and eternal. The endless blue sky during the day or a velvety black canvas dotted with stars stretching through outer space. We are reminded that the universe is an amazing miracle, and the one who created it still reigns over his creation, including us. We can lay our problems at his feet and help will come. That help may not always solve our problems in the way we desire, but it does bring endurance and courage to face them.

One of my favorite Bible verses comes from Psalm 121. “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.” (KJV) Growing up in Florida, I had no hills to look up to, but I loved the thought that help comes from above. I believe many folks would agree with me.

Think about it for a moment… how many movies have you seen where all seemed lost, then the characters looked up to the hills, or the mountains or even the sky and saw their heroes coming in to rescue them? Those screen writers knew the secret.When all seems lost, look up.

So look up my friend. It works.

Praying all the best for you as you keep striving to thrive.