Why do people look down when they walk?

I have noticed when I have been walking around that most people walk with their eyes towards the ground. Why? This thought has intrigued me for the last couple of weeks and I have put quite a bit of thought into it. I feel like there is a link between how people walk through life and what they do in life. I know it might be a stretch but I am going to try it out and see what comes of it. Here is why I think that people look down when they are walking:

1. They are afraid of tripping and falling on their face. People are afraid to look dumb or to fail in front of others. There will be times when you trip up or fall flat on your face in life. I want to let you in on a secret of life: Everybody fails, everybody trips, you are not perfect and you never will be. If you are always watching out for yourself when will you ever have time to look out for others? I am not saying that you should completely ignore yourself. I am just saying, if you always keep the focus on you, you will miss out on opportunities to help others. Look up to see who is around you and see what God wants you to do in your life as you walk through it.

2. They are afraid of looking people in the eyes. I was raised by my parents to look people in the eyes, to say hello and to shake their hand. I did this when I was a kid because my parents told me to but I now know that what they did for me has set me apart from others my age. I have come to find that most other people are afraid to make eye contact with others when they walk past them and even rarer is to have someone say hello while they pass you. I know that there are a lot of weird people in the world but I think that most people would be pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of people just want someone to acknowledge their existence. It doesn’t take much to change someone’s outlook on their day. Say hello, smile and see the difference you can make. God is going to give you opportunities to do things in life that might make you uncomfortable and will definitely make you different. But, in the end, who wants to be the same as everyone else walking around?

3. They don’t want to be different. I get the feeling that people didn’t use to walk around with their eyes focused on the road in front of them. I think that people started doing it because others were not acknowledging them and they felt out of place. It can be discouraging when no one is willing to look you in the eyes and say hello. But, for every ten that pass by there is one who looks up and maybe, just maybe, I got the chance to change their day. God tells us that we are different than others. We are unique and made for a specific purpose in life. In order to be used by God, you can’t just be part of the crowd, you have to stick out.