Look Up!

 I can remember as a little girl, laying in the grass on a warm day and looking up at the sky, watching the clouds as they passed overhead.  I loved doing that!  I was reminded of this when I recently re-listened to one of my most favorite Ted talk videos the other day.

The video is  of time-lapse filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg sharing a part of his film project about happiness.  The cinematography is stunning to say the least, but I love, love, love the words spoken in the background by Benedictine Monk David Steindl-Rast.  I've viewed this video clip a multitude of times over the past few years and it never gets old.

But this time, these words caught my ear,

"Look at the sky.  We so rarely look at the sky.  We so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment with clouds coming and going…..The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same as it is right now.  Open your eyes.  Look at that."

And in that moment, I began to start looking up again.  It has become my new favorite hobby.  I love it because I can do it anywhere I am.  It doesn't take long, just a moment.  Just a quick moment to look up in renewed wonder and awe of the simple beauty that God has surrounded me with.  

Just a quick moment to be reminded that the world is bigger than just the little space I am currently occupying.

Just a moment to enjoy how the light and warmth of the sun filters through the trees in order to allow the plants to grow.

How the clouds and sun combine together to streak the sky with beauty.  How the earth reflects the colors of the sky.

Just a moment to notice the many different shades of blue there are in the skies above me.

Looking up helps to remind me that there is something greater than myself.  That God brings beauty to everything, including the smallest details such as sky color and cloud placement.  Looking up reassures  me that God is involved and interested in details.  He enjoys creating beauty.  Which in turn reminds me that he is actively involved in creating moments of beauty in my life, all the time.  

So take a little time with me and start to look up and enjoy the beauty that God brings to your life and the world around you. And so, I'm wishing you a week full of beautiful and wondrous moments!