When I played on the high school soccer team our coach would often remind us to look up. Frequently, while playing, we would have the ball and we would look down at our feet and the ball so that we could see what we were doing with the ball. However, this would result in us not noticing what was going on on the rest of the field and usually an opposing player would come up and cause us to lose the ball. The reminder from our coach helped us learn to look up and find our teammates that were available to help us, open space we can play in, and how to avoid the opposing players.
When I drive, I tend to look only at the road and how fast I’m allowed to drive. This isn’t a bad thing, please continue to look at the road when you drive. However, there is a lot you miss out on when you don’t notice what you’re passing by on your way to get somewhere. One of my recent road trips I made a special effort to look at what I was driving by. (Still retaining a safe focus on the road and driving.) And I took time to stop and take a few pictures. But I especially noticed the incredible mountains I drove through. Pictures really don’t capture the grandeur and awe of what you see, at least not with limited photography experience and a simple ipad camera.
The picture for this post was taken on the side of the road, on my way home from visiting my sister. I was pulling over to take a picture of the hills, but ended up unable to get a good angle of them. But I found this bridge. I’ve always loved things like this because it isn’t just a simple bridge to get across the creek, but it’s an aesthetic piece. It’s a structure that is looking up at it’s purpose and possibilities. Then later, I noticed that I caught the magpie flying over. I didn’t stop with the intention of taking the picture, but that’s how it worked out because I was looking up, I wouldn’t have noticed the bridge otherwise.
Sometimes we get caught up in our day to day lives, and it gets mundane and overwhelming. But when we take the time to look up we gain a new perspective. This can be turning to God, a friend and mentor, meditating, setting goals, or looking at the scenery you drive by. But doing this gives us almost a new start, a better view on what we’re doing. Sometimes we find new opportunities, or the perfect timing for what we were aiming for.
Looking up is having hope, and expecting to have opportunities come up. This applies in everything, soccer (or any other sport), photography, school, spiritual life, careers, etc. Find out how you should look up, and what do you find when you do? What I realized as I was looking up on that drive home, is that there is beauty and opportunities around me. I just have to be brave enough, and decisive enough to take advantage of them.
In writing, you have inspiration surrounding you every day, but you have to be looking up to see it. Then you have to be brave enough to use it and write it down. The difference between writers and those who want to be writers is the opportunities taken. Start with looking up and seeing them. There are a lot of things that are hard, have the hope that things will work out for you so that you can look for your chance to be successful.
