Many of us are spending our lifetime looking down.
Whether we are looking down due to digital technologies that have stolen our attention, painful relationships that have hurt us in our past, or life’s hardships which have caused us to grow numb, we are increasingly becoming humans who look down. Because of this, our eyes, attention, and gaze are not fixed on each other or on God.
We must not allow ourselves to be held captive each day with our eyes, attention, and gaze fixed in this way, no longer in tune with our soul or our relationships with others.
We must understand that we cannot participate in life’s greatest acts of the human spirit or grow in our soul when we have forgotten what it means to look up, into each other’s eyes, and out into the real beauty found through human connection.
We must not walk away from what makes us human—our eyes, soul, and human spirit. We need to not be so easily captivated by the color-saturated changing images on screens and allow ourselves to be fascinated by real-life memorable experiences. We need to return to slower moments where it is okay to be still, not speak, and listen more to what is not being said.
As we seek inner peace and move into false sanctuaries that promise temporary rest and relief such as digital technologies, we must understand that we are meant for more discovering, awe, wonder, and growth.
We must look away, up, and out.
I don’t think we understand what we are losing when we look down instead of up and out. It is not just soul-filled activities we are missing out on; it is the intimacy found only through genuine connection in our relationships to each other, God, and nature.
We must not lose this significant part of our purpose in life.
We are meant for in-person communication with each other where we can listen to each other’s nonverbal communication, look into each other’s eyes, and connect with each other in meaningful ways. Our priority then must shift from maintaining shallow relationships to rediscovering the joy found in sustaining deeper human connection.
We are meant to engage in creating where we discover who we are through the creative process. Our priority then must shift from admiring a polished final product to finding fulfillment and contentment in the joy found in the creative process.
Art and music are the universal languages of our human spirit, meant to connect our soul and human spirit to God, our core identity, God-given purpose, and to each other.
In Scripture, Christ compares the human journey to a lengthy race where a person must have endurance and persistence which is committed and active. We are even told to look away from whatever is distracting us and to focus not just our attention, but our eyes on Jesus. Scriptures specifically states, “looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity]” (Hebrews 12:2a, Amplified Bible, 2015). However, Christ goes a step further and reminds us that if we are going to run this race that we should not just look away from things that are distracting us, but to remove anything that is weighing us down. Scripture also states, “stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, Amplified Bible, 2015). What are the temptations and obstacles that are weighing you down and not just entangling you, but keeping you entrapped in a clever way?
Remove those weights from yourself; look away, up, and out. In doing so, you will find restoration, peace, and fulfillment in your life again.