Have you ever wondered how far your eyes can see? I had not either until the other night when I was looking up into the night sky admiring Jupiter which is 400 million miles away. 400 million miles. I understand that I was actually seeing the reflection of the sun’s light bouncing off Jupiter and not actually Jupiter itself. But hang with me for a few moments because this is worth considering.

As I thought about my eyes’ ability to see distance I remembered being at the beach last summer and looking at the horizon and wondering how far offshore I could actually see. So I plugged that question into the Google machine and it told me it was about three miles off into the distance. At three miles the earth’s curvature begins to come into play and our vision becomes limited. To my “flat earther” friends – disregard that last comment.

And what happens when I look down? It stands to reason that the maximum distance I can see is reduced greatly which correlates directly to my height. I’m five feet seven inches tall so the maximum distance I can see looking down is sixty seven inches. That reduced field of view certainly effects how I see my world if I live with my head down.

So if I look down I can see sixty seven inches. If I look forward I can see three miles. But if I look up I can see objects that are light-years away. And one light-year is six trillion miles. Remember that we live in a universe that is approximately 13 billion light years in length. The closest celestial body to earth is our moon and it is 238,000 miles away and all we need to do is look up to see it.

There is a lesson here. One that will make sense to most of us who carry heavy loads from life’s many challenges. Failures. Disappointments. Heartaches. Sicknesses. Deaths. These things tend to weigh on us as gravity pulls them down with us towards the ground. And I’m afraid it becomes commonplace to keep our eyes focused on where our weights are pulling us which is always in the downward direction. Our shoulders drop. So follows our head as well as our eyes. And before we know it our vision becomes focused on a distance of only sixty-seven inches.

In a similar way, all through life in sports or business we are encouraged to focus forward rather than backward. To keep our eyes on the prize ahead of us. But in reality this only allows us to see about three miles out as we look forward. This is quite an upgrade over sixty seven inches but living horizontally is limited as well. If all we ever do is look forward, we might obtain a goal but miss the deeper meanings of life.

Perhaps there is great wisdom imparted to us by our coaches and parents who tell us to keep our heads up. To dare and lift our gaze skyward as we strive to unlock our God given potential. It’s hard to look upward while life’s weights are pulling us down. Likewise, looking up is often ignored when we become so focused on what’s dead ahead that we settle for surface accomplishments and our self-defined dreams.

I’m convinced there is more. There are simply too many signs around us everyday that remind us of how magical life can be. I’m not talking about monetary riches or depreciating assets. Those are ‘forward looking’ rewards. No. I’m talking about the beauty of creating margins in our daily routines so we can think. And dream. And create. And pray. Our destiny is “up there”. We were made to look upward where our vision is virtually limitless.

This goes hand in hand with our physical bodies as they tend to operate more efficiently when we hold our heads up. Our airways open fully allowing rich oxygen uptake which promotes health and healing. Conversely – when we look down our airways tend to become restricted and closed off. We deprive ourselves of life-giving oxygen as well as immeasurable vision at the same time.

So can we try it? Can we quiet the voices of failure and the vivid temptations of worldly possessions and personal status long enough to look up? Can we try to fathom the universe that our eyes can see when we take time to notice it? Its vastness. Its beauty. And even its silence. If we do, we might see more than just the sun’s reflection bouncing off Jupiter 400 million miles away. We might actually see God’s love and grace flowing directly towards us as we stand in awe of God’s amazing creation.

If you dare to look up, it will become intuitive to lay down your weights. They will not matter nearly as much if we can center our gaze upward. Not because they won’t still hurt because they certainly will. But life will become lighter because God’s grace can only be seen and experienced in vast and unlimited quantities. Looking down or forward won’t get you there. But looking upward surely will.

Go find Jupiter in the night sky and realize how far your eyes can actually see when you lift your head. Don’t look down. Don’t look forward. Look up. Your vision becomes limitless just like you. Gravity has no effect on your ability to look upward. Once this is understood you will see that gravity and all of life’s weights have no ability to keep you down either.