Lately, I’ve been looking up.

That’s not a metaphor, I’ve just honestly been trying to look up more.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I spend a lot of time looking down, even if just slightly. I’ve seen plenty of ground and floor. Watched my feet kick things around. Seen dust collected at the corners of rooms, stains on carpets. Observed bugs dancing across lines of asphalt.

It’s when I’m not immediately focused on something. If I’m waiting somewhere or walking. When I’m talking on the phone or bopping around to different projects at work. Whatever it is, my eyes tend to be either straight forward or down. A 90 degree field of vision  encompassing mostly floor. Maybe not 90 degrees, per se, because walking around looking straight down would be odd, but you get my point.

Recently, I’ve been changing that. If I’m idle, I’ve been trying to raise my head, look at what’s above me. I’ve especially been enjoying this when walking around outside, even just to go get the mail or through my parking lot at work. Trees I’ve seen every single day are suddenly a lot more majestic. I’ve been able to notice details about buildings that I otherwise wouldn’t, subtle flaws or hard to reach imperfections. I’ve watched birds zipping to and fro. I’ve observed weather building or dissipating at different times of day. Seen the light dance across the sky in different colors throughout the day.

All in all, looking up more just makes the world feel larger. When you set your gaze on a downward path, your line of site has a definitive end. You build a definable space where your mind and reality can exist, a bubble constrained by the presence of the ground and the edges of your vision. Only things in that bubble exist for you: a limited world of your  creation, made larger or smaller by a simple tilt of the head, but always confined. Directing things upward opens up the world immensely. A vast band of vision stretches out, encompassing so much more color and light. It seems like such a simple change, but it just adds so much more depth to the world, so much more life. Suddenly your world is rich and full of possibility. It’s vibrant and dynamic. All with a simple change of perspective.

Maybe it is a metaphor.

~C