Upside Down

We walk through our world

Doing what we do

Seeing things as we see them

And suddenly

We find our world turned upside down

Nothing looks the same

Nothing is the same

We long for others to see what we now see

 But they simply can’t

As they remain upright

Walking the path they have been walking

Everything looks the same

Everything is the same

We are liberated

Remembering this new view

This new life

Is for us

We can’t take others with us

But we can cherish

The time shared

The love that forever connects us

No villains in this story

Just People

Living their lives

Navigating their paths

Upside down

Upright

As best we can.

 

There is a concrete beam in my living area that has become a prop for me to do hand stands and hang upside down.  I love the feeling of hanging upside down – my hands grounding me on the floor, my arms firing every muscle, my core engaged and my legs straight with my toes pointed against the beam.  Everything looks different from this position.  Everything is different at this angle.

This reminds me that wherever I am in my life affects the way I view the world and not everyone is exactly where I am so they can’t see what I see.  This requires me to honor my individual perspective and unique views; and in doing this, I can honor where others are and recognize that they see what they see.  This is liberating!  No need to make others bad or villains in my story rather seeing the beauty of people living their lives, navigating their paths upside or upright the best they can.

It is painful to long for others to see what we see.  It sucks that we can’t take others with us and must let go of what was.  This is life – a constant letting go and reaching for more, grieving, wishing things could stay the same and eventually accepting the new and delighting in it in ways that surprise us.  We can cherish the time shared and allow the love to forever connect us as we are grateful for the dance. 

The invitation this day is to appreciate your perspectives, how you view the world so that you can appreciate how others see.  None of us are upright or upside down at the same time; but in recognizing that each person’s journey causes shifts within and in the external world revealing different angels, we can stand fully present human to human.  We live with an understanding that transcends our desire for things to be as we want them to be and an expectation that others should see as we see.