I know why the troubled man keeps his head up

One cliche that gets thrown around a lot is, "Keep your head up." People say this to someone when they look sad or upset about something. The effectiveness in this overused saying lies in its ability to motivate people to stay positive.

Others expressions like this include:

"Look at the bright side."
"The beginning is always today."
"Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

I normally don't have anybody around to tell me these uplifting things so I have to tell them to myself.

While returning home from work tonight I couldn't help but keep my head in a 45 degree angle facing downward. The temperature was 0˚C so I had my hood up, but something was also troubling me. It's not so important what was troubling me. More importantly I wondered why it was troubling me.

Noticing myself that I hadn't looked up once since venturing on foot back to my apartment, I decided to pause in the midst of my tracks. Under the furry hood of my Korean jacket I tilted my head up to see if the stars had come out to play tonight. My visibility was hindered by my hood so I couldn't see much. I wanted to see more but I didn't want to lose the warmth it was providing me. Comfort aside I decided to push up the hood fully with my umbrella until I was de-hooded. And there I saw, the Big Dipper.

I stood in awe at its awesomeness: it's majestic twilight. I watched it, or rather saw it, for at least a few minutes. In those few minutes I was transported away from all the menial and trivial matters that were infesting my life. It made me realize something profound.

My subconscious streamline of thoughts:

["Wow, when you think about it all, everything that lies before us is so meaningless, yet at the same time ultimately precious. These moments in which I think and ponder about life are the ones that mean the most to me.

The bigger dipper is so far away. The universe is so vast. Is it infinite or finite?

It's 0˚C weather right now but it's just a bunch of neurons going off in my brain right now telling me that it's freezing. I'm diverting maximum CPU to Pondering Mode.

That's better. Now, where was I? Oh, I'm still standing here? But what for? I need to go home and prepare dinner so that way I can continue to be alive and healthy. I'm still trying to enjoy this Life thing."]

End Subconscious Transmission

Conclusion: When you keep your head up you see more than just your feet and your surrounding environment. It snapped me right out of the funk that I was in.


~Anthans