Perspective Changes Everything

The beginning of new year is a great time to reset your frame of mind. Call it resolutions, goal setting, or choosing a word for the year, many people are looking for ways to make a fresh start.

While I am attempting to work on some resolutions this year, I also have had a phrase running through my head for the past week or so. I woke up this morning, at 3:40, with a story to explain the phrase.

 I thought that I'd pass it on to you.

The Walk

A woman decided to take her visiting friend for a walk one fresh spring day. 

Returning home, the woman declared, "That walk was wonderf..." 

"Horrible!" interjected her friend. 

Confused, the woman asked her friend what had been so horrible about the walk. 

"Didn't you see all of the trash that people had dumped along the highway?" her friend said.  "Now that the snow is thawing, it's EVERYWHERE! People have no respect these days. Plus, that road is all rutted up. I don't know how any cars make it through that muddy mess."

Nodding, the woman smiled at her friend.

"But, did you happen to notice," she began, "the birds making nests to get ready for their new babies?" Or the way that the sun was shining through the branches overhead? Did you see the new buds coming out on all of the trees? There's nothing like the first green of spring."

Her friend look at her quizzically. She hadn't noticed any of those things during their outing.

"You see," the woman continued, "when spring comes, there is trash to clean up, there is mud and there are messes. But there is also growth, new life, and new beginnings. You just have to look up."

You. Just. Have. To. Look. Up.

During the struggles of the past year, I have felt myself looking down a lot. Pushing myself along, just trying to survive. Making eye contact for too long might allow people to see the depth of the pain that I was trying to work through. Best to just keep things light and on the surface. Holding myself back and denying that personal connection with the people around me hurts, not only them, but myself.

The pain is not over. The struggles continue. But a life spent looking down is no way to live. Life is not just garbage and muddy messes (and pain). Life is also sunshine, laughter, and new beginnings.

Perspective changes everything.

This year I've made resolutions, but I also have a phrase I will be carrying with me.

You just have to look up.