By Martha O’Regan
Sounds so simple but how often do you just look up? Do you sometimes get to the end of the day and wonder what happened? Who crossed your path? What lessons did you learn? With the great age of technology, it seems we have lost the ability to look up, look around and really drink in our surroundings. There are so many distractions enticing us to look down that we can truly miss the life that is passing us by. Lately, I find that I am finally slowing down long enough to actually look up with great gratitude at the beauty of our beloved Lowcountry or with awe at the magnificence of every person and particle around me. Maybe it is the realization that life is zipping by and if I don’t look up and tune in now, I will completely miss the rest of my life experience.
During those times when we find ourselves getting too bogged down with the minutiae of a project that we can’t see the big picture, take a moment to honor that inner nudging to “just look up’.” And, when we do, often something wonderful comes into clarity. Maybe it’s a sunset, or your child’s shining eyes when telling a story, or a sign for a business whose services match a thought that you had just yesterday. Becoming aware of the thoughts and behaviors that keep our blinders narrowed before us is the first step to expanding our consciousness. The second step is to simply look up, look around and find one thing that you have never noticed. Maybe it is a name on a mailbox that you pass every day, or a piece of artwork that has been hanging in your place of work for five years. It doesn’t matter if it is big or small; just take a moment to notice it.
A fun little exercise that I often ask clients who get hung up on the trivial details of day to day living to do is called “from bigness to smallness.” Start with a globe, an atlas, a poster of the galaxies, or just the sky above; anything really big. Clear you mind and just stare at it, wonder about its creation, and continue staring at it until you feel an emotion in your body. It may be a tingle, a tear of gratitude, or the ability to take a deep sigh. Allow yourself to feel what you feel as you tune into the awe of the bigness. Then pick up an acorn, blade of grass or a bug and do the same thing — stare at it until you feel the awe of the smallness of its creation. Next, sit with your eyes closed and feel your heart beat, see what you see in your minds’ eye, and think about your last meal and all that your body is doing to process it. Stay there until you feel the awe of amazing machinery that keeps you going day in day out without being told what to do. And, finally stare down at your fingernail, a freckle on your hand, or a piece of hair from your head until you feel the awe of the smallness of each particle and how they came to be without our help at all. Now, take a few more moments to feel the awe of the magnificence of all of creation that we are a part of. It puts those trivial details in a different perspective, doesn’t it?
So look up, look around and enjoy the awe of your surroundings. Live Well … Have Fun!
