The numbers keep rising, and the world keeps changing. From where we’re standing, things can look pretty grim. It reminds us of a flight we took on a cloudy morning from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. As our plane took off, the skies were overcast and dark, with no light to be seen. We gained altitude and entered the clouds, thick and opaque on the inside. And then, in an instant, we broke through the cloud deck and were greeted by an explosion of vibrant sunshine and expansive blue skies.

The sun had been there the whole time.

Behind the clouds, the sun was hidden and out of view. Below the clouds, the world was bleak and somber. One would have thought the sun quit shining altogether. But above those clouds, the sun had been there the whole time.

That’s the reality we’re facing together today. If we look around, it can feel utterly oppressive. When we only see what’s below the clouds, the picture we’re facing can look really hopeless. The key for each of us is to remember that the sun’s still shining even if we can’t see it, and eventually the clouds will break. Someday soon, we’ll wake up to the shining sun and those vast blue skies.

As we wake up each day and navigate the world of COVID, that’s the perspective we need to chase. We need to pursue the view from above the clouds. That’s where we’ll find the strength, motivation, and new ideas we need to keep moving forward.

For the businesses and non-profits we serve every day here at OrangeBall, that’s our hope for each of you – that we will keep moving forward together. There are moments (we’ve had them just like you) when the heaviness of this current situation keeps us under the clouds. The key is to keep looking toward tomorrow, even amid the closures, cancellations, and quarantines.

One of our clients put it like this, “I know we’re all living day by day at the moment, but in the meantime, I want to make sure I’m not losing complete sight of planning for the future.”

Our friend Jaime Taets at Keystone Group put it like this in her latest blog, “For all leaders, I believe that this time of chaos is a great time to take a clarity break, take the opportunity to slow down and think about your business, and let the strategic ideas flow.”

Paul Batz from Good Leadership ended his latest blog with this question, “How can we help each other these days?”

These are the kind of responses that are focused on the future, not our current circumstances. If things have been halted or business has slowed, now may be the time to step back and reflect. It may be time to assess who you want to be when the dust settles. It may be time to evaluate the strength of your product offerings or your marketing. It may be time to reach out to your network and ask how you can help someone else in their struggles.

That’s our encouragement to each of you… Now is not the time to stop and get stuck under the clouds. Instead, it’s time to make some moves forward. Regardless of where you spend your energy, now is the time to do SOMETHING. The greatest danger any of us are facing today is wasting our time stuck below the clouds, with no eye toward the future.

Call-to-Action

Look for the sunshine this week. It’s still there even when you can’t see it, and even though the clouds are so dark, they’ll break soon. Keep an eye toward the future, and use this time to think forward, not slide backward.

Sending prayers… – OrangeBall