“Keep looking up, that's the secret of life.” - Charlie Brown

Well first I wouldn’t say that there’s a secret to life, there is so much variety within everyone’s own experience that it’s impossible to attribute something that broadly. But there are a few concepts that are generally true, including the core thesis of this quote: “Keep looking up, that's the secret of life.”

First - Keep looking up! The metaphorical understanding of this it that things are going to be okay. You can be hopeful for the future and the opportunities it will bring. You can be intentional about looking up and seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel”, and the hidden blessings in the situation. It’s a great way to live because you raise the level of what you expect, and what you’re willing to tolerate, which then facilitates the delivery of those qualities in your life.

There’s also a physical understanding of this. The opposite of “looking up” is looking down. This is a very common response when something doesn’t go according to plan, or you’ve been hurt in some way and seek to protect yourself. And that’s exactly what your posture is meant to do. Your closed body language creates perceived signals of protection and comfort that you seek. But the unfortunate byproduct of this is that it communicates to others that you don’t want to be approached, you aren’t friendly, and that they should keep their emotional and physical space.

Looking up opens that posture and invites people into your life. This means they can be a part of the solution and support you in necessary ways. It also means you’re looking ahead at what’s to come, representative of your intention to overcome the situation in the best way possible!

While it’s not the end all secret to life, do look up, because that’s the best way to keep going forward.