Lift Up Your Eyes

Most days in the afternoon, I take our 2 dogs, Lulabel and Angel, on a walk around the neighborhood. We usually go 1 ½ - 2 miles. About ½ way through, my right leg usually starts to go crazy. It feels tight in places and sometimes like it’s dangling loose. Sometimes I can adjust my gait or stop and stretch. Sometimes I just push through till it passes.

Lulabel and Angel walking by the creek

Today I noticed that I was staring down at the ground in front of me as I walked and fixated on the pain. I thought maybe I could just ignore it, and maybe if I looked up at the trees and sky, I could take my mind off of it by thinking of bigger things. An odd thing happened. As I lifted my eyes, my head followed, as did my back, rotating my hips, and relieving the pain in my leg. I looked around at the sky and trees and tried to think about bigger things than just each step.

Over the course of the walk, my eyes would drift down to the sidewalk, and I had to consciously raise them again. Each time, as my posture adjusted, I’d feel more at ease. What I had thought might be a mental solution to pushing through the pain by concentrating on the bigger picture, turned out to have a direct physical impact.

Feel free to draw your own life lessons outside of proper posture on a simple walk. But if you’re struggling with pain, it might not hurt to lift up your eyes.