Once a year, most of us, at least in the United States and Canada, celebrate Thanksgiving. We gather with friends and family to celebrate life, giving thanks to our blessings while indulging in smorgasbords of favorite dishes. As the holiday approaches, I was reminded of a special Thanksgiving that I wrote about in When All Balls Drop. This particular Thanksgiving was nearly two months after a near-death accident and the first time that I had really digested the holiday’s meaning.
“I had never experienced a Thanksgiving like this before. Having a very small family and being blessed with good health, I knew I should never take life for granted because I had almost lost it all. I should honor my family, friends, health, wisdom, and myself not only on Thanksgiving but all year.”
Before the next Thanksgiving, I went ahead and created the Look Up Mantra. Like Thanksgiving, the Look Up Mantra is a way to remind us of what is important; however, unlike a yearly celebration, Look Up can be and should be used much more frequently to shift your perspective and show gratitude.
The powerful two words of the Look Up Mantra remind us all to 1) Be in the Moment, appreciating the beauties as well as hazards and 2) Find the upside in any situation as all hurdles, hiccups, and wounds turn into wisdom.
I write a post dedicated to the evergreen lesson of Look Up that I learned from my When All Balls Drop Moment in 2009. You will find that I always do so on Look Up Day, which is celebrated each 27th in honor of the accident’s date, 9/27/09. However, every day, I take a moment to Look Up. Because I know life gets in the way sometimes, I have a reminder on my Smartphone as well as on my watch.
Wishing you a wonderful Look Up Day and Thanksgiving!
Here’s to looking up every day of the year and from anywhere in the world!
