Have you ever been surprised to look down and see the sun shining at your feet?
That happened to me recently walking barefoot on the beach in California.
How mysterious, that luminous orb floating on the wet sand. Not what we expect; it reverses our expectation. It seems to open the ground into another space that we didn’t know was there; a magical light.
Why do we always look up for what we think is great? Is it because the sun shines down on us from the sky that we tend to project our source of inspiration as coming from above us?
Whether it’s a spiritual source (in “heaven”), an authority figure we place on a pedestal, or a role model whose example seems unattainable, we are always reaching upward for the good, for our goal, for our blessing. Noble and admirable though our ideals may be, we set ourselves up for continually feeling “less than” by insisting on looking to a source of inspiration beyond our grasp.
We look for the sacred, the divine, way beyond ourselves where we can never reach it, so we think it can never be part of us. We separate heaven and earth and keep ourselves walled off from what we love and long for.
If it’s that wonderful, it couldn’t possibly be me!
What if the sun were shining at our feet? Would we even see it there? Whether that glow comes from a true source or a reflected light, the luminosity is right at hand, or at foot – and within our reach. Look down at your feet and behold! Soon you may perceive the radiance in every leaf, twig, and grain of sand. Perhaps even in yourself!
Hi Tomar,
To me, reaching up feels like I’m open, expectant, vulnerable and welcoming – like an active stance. Looking down is for a different mood when I’m feeling gentle, pensive, protected. Passive, like waiting to receive a message from Source. Both work! Just depends on what my needs are at the moment.
Cheryl, your comment is beautiful, and I agree with you. I also have both experiences. In this post I’m pointing to something a little different – a self-image that can arise when we place our aspirations always beyond us or set our role models or authorities above us, in a way that keeps us feeling smaller and perhaps always in the yearning stance – so that we can never actually arrive or be empowered ourselves. I’ve also experienced that!
Thanks for commenting on my blog, and please visit again!
If you go further than the tip of your nose to find what’s precious, you’ve gone too far
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Thanks John, for your pithy and pointed comment (not an observation about your nose) –
I love it.
Hello, Have a great day to you fellow blogger. We have accepted your carnival submission here h**p://lifetofullest.com/living-life-to-the-fullest-carnival-new-year-special/ but unfortunately, it seems that our trackback was filtered by akismet, it is mistakenly treated our trackbacks as spam. Please check your spam folder and mark as as not spam so akismet will learn that we are not. Thank you so much and please keep joining in our carnival editions. Happy new year. Thanks and best regards, Jay Yanuaria
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Yeah, I have noticed this is often true in my own life. It keeps me always reaching for me, never actually being satisfied with what I do have, which I see as a good thing because it keeps me striving to be better. However, I am beginning to notice that I am having some blessings in life at this point, yet I don’t see them because I am looking for what is far away. It seems that we humans, myself included, always have a natural want for what we don’t have. Great post and good point!
Thanks for your comment, Dan. It’s good to notice how the ego is never satisfied, but needs to keep looking for “more.” That is the name of the game, and it keeps us on a treadmill of seeking. Being with what we are and have can mean learning to get off that treadmill.
I hope you stop by again.
Tomar