Day 135

9/26/22

It's hard to look up, or even straight ahead, when I am walking my Goldens. I believe this habit stems from a couple of nasty falls on my rollerblades, tripping over my walking mates and making sure the pups don't eat anything I wouldn't eat! Having said that, today I decided to look UP!

I had to smile when I thought of the many inclusions of "up" in a phrase. It is such a versatile word...

Looking up!
Up to par!
Blow up!
Back up!
All up!
Add up!
Give up!
Pop up!
What's up?

This list could go on forever...even if I stayed on the "up and up!" All I planned to do was to simply keep my eyes focused in an upwards direction!

What I first noticed was the blue sky, wafting clouds and changing leaves. Beautiful in their own right, I decided to look more closely. I noticed airplanes, birds in flight (even some stray robins who were trying to catch up to their friends), squirrels in trees and even a few early Halloween decorations hanging from branches.

Since I hadn't fallen yet and my goldens remained safe, I allowed myself to really go deeply into my quest at looking up. I noticed ancient trees along the river that had probably seen Native Americans canoe up the Rum River. Their branches, home to countless living things, reaching out to offer shade and protection to those below.

I noticed the type of clouds floating across the sky and realized they held no threat of rain or storms. Those same billowing forms were flying across the sky as a strong wind chased them through the sky. They were powerful in their ability to move unhindered by anything!

Then, I took a long look at the leaves on the trees. Most of the branches still displayed the green of summer, but some were already allowing a leaf, here and there, to embrace its true color once the chlorophyll disappeared as the season began to change.

Looking back down at my Goldens, I realized that looking up was amazing, but looking down at my pups was just as beautiful. They simply "lift up" my spirits! That might be the best use of the word "up" I have discovered!