I woke up the other morning with a stiff neck. Not very painful, just uncomfortable, and it was easier to hold my head so I was looking downwards. When I took the dog for a walk, I tried to hold my head up properly, but it was an effort, and unless I concentrated hard, my head drooped again, so all I could see was grubby pavement. As I walked I got thinking. If we constantly walk though our lives looking down, all we see is the ground. We see the pavement, the mud and grass, and the rubbish that blows around our feet. We only notice the dirt drifting in the gutter, the empty tin cans, discarded crisp packets, cigarette ends, all the rubbish we humans create. If we constantly walk through life looking at the negative, then all we see are our own troubles. We see only the unhappiness and despair that blows around our feet. We notice the dirt drifting in the gutter, our own doubts and difficulties, our sorrow and sadness, misery and misfortune. And if that is all we can see, we are in danger of missing the good stuff. We miss the blue sky, the clouds, the trees, the colours of nature that surround us. We do need to watch where we put our feet, so we don’t trip up, but it is a dim, low picture of life if we don’t look up. We must choose to take notice of the good things that surround us, the birds and butterflies, people’s faces. Sometimes it is an effort to look up and around us, but it is an effort worth making.
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