Look up for a change 1



Stars don’t beg the world for attention; their beauty forces us to look up.

Jordan Hoechlin

There’s something about looking up and out to the world around us that changes our internal perspective.

I remember a moment when I was driving across a freeway overpass with my daughter, when she was about 3. As she looked up towards the Perth hills and down to the traffic below, she said, “Mummy look, I can see the WHOLE world!”

We live in a flat part of the city, so this outlook was new and exciting for her. I smiled at the way she’d interpreted this view and made a mental note to get out more! But what I loved the most was how this change in view had made a new connection in her brain. One that took her breath away.

I regularly find that my perspective changes when I take time to look up and out around me.

I think of times I’ve been on a plane and looked out towards the clouds. Petty issues that loomed large in my mind before take-off start to drop away, and I find myself seeing the bigger picture view of my life.

I remember times I’ve looked up to the night sky and taken in the vastness of the Milky Way. I’ve felt so tiny, yet also a reassuring sense that the God who created the universe still sees me and cares for me.

Whenever I look up to the hills or see mountains I’m reminded that life is a journey. It’s filled with ups and downs and everything in between, but we need to keep travelling. We need to keep dreaming, keep exploring, keep contributing and keep believing that the best days are ahead.

Without a change in view, my mind gets stuck in ‘flat suburban thinking’ where I can’t see the wood for the trees.

So I’ll keep looking up and out for a fresh perspective.

What about you? Do you make time to look up? To the sunset, to the blue sky, to the hills. To any place that takes your breath away and reminds you of what’s true.

Bridget


About Bridget Hadfield

Bridget grew up in the South Island of New Zealand surrounded by mountains and sheep. At the age of 13 she moved across the Tasman with her family to the wheatbelt of Western Australia where she finished high school and tried to lose her kiwi accent. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing and public relations and found her passion working for non-profit organisations supporting vulnerable children. She currently works for Foxglove Project, a local charity partnering with women and girl projects overseas. She lives in Perth and is married with two young daughters. She loves to travel, enjoys baking, dislikes craft and most afternoons you’ll find her playing chasey in the backyard with her girls.

One thought on “Look up for a change

  • Jenny

    Hi Bridget,

    You are quite right in we don’t see the wood for the trees.

    I have two of my four children living in the Perth hills so I am there on a regular basis and just love the peace and serenity the bushland brings me.
    Looking out my from my Sons Lounge at the night sky and City skyline is beautiful.
    What a wonderful God we have!

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