Look Up!I visited the Great Wall this past summer. It's this magnificent thing, majestically impressive from a distance, probably even more so than actually being on it. Being on it is work - the section I was on was an uphill climb, steep and difficult. I was really focused on climbing, geared towards getting higher and higher. But no matter how hard, or how fast you climb, it just keeps going. You're trying to get to the top, but the top just keeps moving further and further away. Another hill or peak comes into view, each promising better scenery than the last. As a result, you find yourself never really being satisfied with where you “ARE”, constantly striving to get higher and higher so you can snap that “PERFECT” picture. Also, because of the uneven steps, one false move could result in injury, so you have to focus on careful footing, which requires even more concentration. The fear of falling kept me from looking up and around, to see the beauty of where I was in that particular moment. What I was looking at was a bunch of black rocks, missing the beauty of the present, what was in the “NOW”. Occasionally, I would stop and take a look around, but really only long enough to recover in order to climb some more, this time, even faster and more dedicated. Finally, I reached a point where I felt like there wasn't one; it just keeps going, 3000+ miles, I believe. It was now about time to start my way back down. The way down found me even more focused on my steps and footing. In fact, I hardly looked up at all. I was nearly all the way back to the car when I realized that I hadn't really seen anything. Sadly, most of my experience of the Great Wall, most of my memories, involve those black stones, and pain of the climb. It occurred to me later that my Great Wall experience could very easily be applied to the way that we live our lives. Ah… the unrewarded climb to the top. We climb and climb, making note of seemingly important LANDMARKS, but ignoring the beautiful (and very temporary) LANDSCAPE. It seems that we only look forward to making checks on some imaginary list: drivers license, high school graduation, college diploma, first job, marriage, kids, next job, weddings, retirement. But what we miss is the “filler”, the rewarding stuff in between. The stuff you take into old age and eventually, with you smiling to the grave. We have become experts at missing the little things in life and believing that it's somehow ok. There I was, staring down at the steps as I climbed up one of man's greatest creations. Here we are, staring down at the steps as we climb through God's greatest. Why can't we seem to get it? A puff of smoke… Ask yourself, “Are you ever really at a point where you can snap that “PERFECT” picture?” And if and when you are there, can you even realize it if you're looking down, focused on climbing? It just keeps going doesn't it? You don't stop, and you rarely take the time to LOOK UP. After all is said and done, you may find that you don't have any pictures at all…just memories of rocks, careful steps and dedication to the climb. Is this how you want your life to be? Stop. Look up. Take some pictures. You may have a “perfect” one and not even know it.
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