Sometimes man gets so involved in the daily grind that he forgets to look up. A bad habit forms that focuses on unfulfilled dreams, disappointing situations, and negative thoughts. Even more discouraging is that his face and body begins to show the effects of this habit. The mouth is perpetually turned down and the shoulders droop with the weight of the world. Why, even a snowflake cannot remain there, the shoulders are so droopy! The only advantage I can see is that when looking down, one might find a penny. The disadvantage is that one sees all the dust bunnies there and who wants that? Not me.

What makes a dust bunny anyway? Well, the composition can be animal hair or dander, human skin flakes, mold, lint, pollen, and all sorts of other interesting tiny substances. If the air is motionless, a dust bunny forms. The natural environment for these creatures is under beds, behind furniture, in air vents, and in other still places. Now why on earth would I want to stay focused on these dark places when I could be looking into the sky?

Even though the neck allows man to look down, if he remains in that position too long, he gets a crick in his neck. For that matter, if he always takes a gander upwards, he gets a crick, too. Seems to me we’re supposed to be balanced, to look down once in awhile, up once in awhile, and straight ahead once in awhile. That’s what we need - balance in our lives.

If we remain balanced in our outlook, nothing seems insurmountable, causing us to hesitate to complete the job before us. Yes, we’ll falter at times, but we’ll start moving again and not become like the inanimate dust bunnies

Our children need to be balanced, too. Sometimes they are so discouraged with their schooling, they become desperately sad. They are looking at the dust bunnies, not their bright future. We must encourage them to face the future, not look down. Help them to consider their interests, desires, and goals. Guffaw over your ridiculous actions as a youngster. It’s by changing the position of their focus that they can breathe better, sleep better, and think better. After all, that’s what we want, right?

Meet Shirley at the New England Homeschool & Family Learning Conference. As Director of Home Education and Family Services (http://www.homeeducator.com/HEFS) she has been helping homeschooling families for many years and is an expert in the area of testing, curriculum design and special education.