Keep Looking Up
“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” - Philippians 3:14
In Florida, there is a small group of bird-watching enthusiasts called “The Village Birders” who regularly conduct bird-watching tours and trips so that the public can experience the thrill and the joys of birdwatching. I met a guy at a restaurant in Florida once who told me about this group, and what stood out to me most is the club’s motto.
The motto, he said, was “Keep Looking Up.” That’s what they tell people is the key to catching a good sight of a rare bird, to keep looking up. Unfortunately, he said, many people make their reservations for the tour, travel to the area, spend money on planes, hotels, and food, but miss what they actually came for.
But when it comes time to see something special, they get distracted, either by their surroundings in the everglades, or by talking or texting on their cell phone, and because they are looking down, they miss seeing what they came for.
The point of the motto is to help people get the experience that they came for and to encourage them not to get thrown off by the mosquitos or the marsh, the fatigue or the fear, but instead to press on when times get tough. The motto is designed to encourage people to do whatever is necessary, whatever they can, whatever is possible, to keep from succumbing to short-term discomfort and to make sure they “keep looking up.”
It’s counsel I think that is good not just for bird watching, but for life as well because life has a way of dealing us difficult blows; and when we feel down, it is not unusual to find ourselves looking down: looking down by falling into despair, looking down by worrying about the future, and looking down by contemplating giving up and throwing in the towel on the problem and on life.
But if we keep looking up, we are refusing to let what we are going through get us down. Some say it is the secret to life. No matter how things appear in the moment, and no matter how painful your reality, your outlook can impact your outcome. Keep looking up!
In Florida, there is a small group of bird-watching enthusiasts called “The Village Birders” who regularly conduct bird-watching tours and trips so that the public can experience the thrill and the joys of birdwatching. I met a guy at a restaurant in Florida once who told me about this group, and what stood out to me most is the club’s motto.
The motto, he said, was “Keep Looking Up.” That’s what they tell people is the key to catching a good sight of a rare bird, to keep looking up. Unfortunately, he said, many people make their reservations for the tour, travel to the area, spend money on planes, hotels, and food, but miss what they actually came for.
But when it comes time to see something special, they get distracted, either by their surroundings in the everglades, or by talking or texting on their cell phone, and because they are looking down, they miss seeing what they came for.
The point of the motto is to help people get the experience that they came for and to encourage them not to get thrown off by the mosquitos or the marsh, the fatigue or the fear, but instead to press on when times get tough. The motto is designed to encourage people to do whatever is necessary, whatever they can, whatever is possible, to keep from succumbing to short-term discomfort and to make sure they “keep looking up.”
It’s counsel I think that is good not just for bird watching, but for life as well because life has a way of dealing us difficult blows; and when we feel down, it is not unusual to find ourselves looking down: looking down by falling into despair, looking down by worrying about the future, and looking down by contemplating giving up and throwing in the towel on the problem and on life.
But if we keep looking up, we are refusing to let what we are going through get us down. Some say it is the secret to life. No matter how things appear in the moment, and no matter how painful your reality, your outlook can impact your outcome. Keep looking up!
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