One of my favorite lines from the book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker is “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” It is such a visually and evocative statement that it remains just as it was written from the book to the stage musical and movie adaptations. I’m reminded often of this line and the importance of looking up and looking around to see the beauty around us. I was inspired to write on this topic today while riding the subway to work this morning, noticing almost everyone had their head down looking at a smartphone. When I looked up and around I noticed the blue morning sky peaking through the receding clouds and the lush green landscape of the outer suburbs and sleepy neighborhoods waking up to a new dawn of opportunities. That moment of inspiration helped uplift my spirits more than anything my smartphone was providing this morning. In addition to providing inspiration or improving emotional states, looking up and looking around regularly provides warnings of dangers ahead and increases safety.
One story from my childhood, told to me by my Mama, illustrates this best. Apparently, according to Mama, when I started walking as a young kid I had the terrible habit of running head long in one direction while looking down or behind me, but never looking up in the direction I was running! One day, I was running and looking behind me and tripped and fell on a speed bump in the street, falling and busting my upper lip open. It was bad enough to require stitches, and I still have the scar today some 50+ years later. If I had been looking up and around in the direction of my run I would have seen the obstacle before falling and getting hurt. Fast forward to present day, how many people get injured or robbed or attacked when distracted by looking at the phones and not looking up and around to be alert to dangers ahead?
Looking up and looking around can also help with developing new ideas or perspectives on personal or professional challenges. I wasn’t quite sure what topic I wanted to write about today that resonated most with me, but by simply looking up and looking around the subway car on the way to work this topic came to mind. There are also times when looking up and around helps me to think about different perspectives on a particular challenging work project task and how best to get unstuck and create effective forward progress towards project goals and milestones.
Now, I don’t negate that there are positive benefits to be had looking at your mobile device or reading a book etc. while on the train commuting to work. I find many productive ways to use my hour commute time with my phone or a book. Sometimes I write my blog posts, listen to music, read another informative or entertaining blog post or article, read an interesting book, or respond to personal emails and messages from friends and family. All of these activities have significant value for me and improve my overall mood and many times inspire me. At the same time, I’m reminded of the equally important value of looking up and looking around to find inspiration, appreciation of the beauty around me, watch for dangers or obstacles ahead to avoid, and be open to new perspectives on challenges that help me continue moving positively towards my personal and professional goals.
We all get distracted by the myriad of things encountered each day. I encourage each of you to reflect on your own stories and experiences with looking up and looking around more often. What were the benefits you realized with doing this more? How often do you intentionally and mindfully put down the distractions and look up and around? What are some possible benefits for you right now if you did this more often? And reflect on how you can create gentle reminders for yourself to do this more often.
We all could benefit from creating gentle reminders to encourage us to look up and around more often. Our stories may be very different if we did. Consider trying this as an experiment for at least one day or more in the coming week and journal about your experience. Consider how your story, and the story you told yourself, for that day and week changed. Look up and look around and notice the colors in the field. Then, write a new story for yourself because as always Your Story Matters.
