I Live Under an Open Heaven

Have you ever seen a child whose parents have put him on a leash? Maybe they are at the mall or some other public place. The child keeps pulling in one direction, excited to experience all the new sights and sounds. And the leash keeps yanking him back.

This illustrates something I've been feeling a tiny bit lately. You see everything around you and feel all the promise. You want more than anything to run towards it and experience life to the fullest. But something yanks you back. The trouble is, in real life this force that pulls you back is not usually as obvious as a bungee leash. 

I think we all struggle with something that pulls us back from time to time. Sometimes it's fear. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we don't know which direction to move forward in so we just stand still. 

The child with the leash will never get too far from his starting point. That's the way the leash was designed. But in my case (and yours), there's no limit to where we can go. And there's really nothing holding us back. Except ourselves.

My friend has a painting in her living room with these words on it: "I live under an open heaven."

Just the phrase brings a smile to my face because I believe it with all my heart. I think we do live under an open heaven...we live under the constant threat of opportunity and possibility. Blessings large and small are always falling from the sky and it's up to us to grab hold of them or not.

Don't put yourself on a leash. And take time to look up every now and again to see what wonderful things might be falling into your lap.

[image via  by Sam Ilić (contact)]