The View

I am not in love with the TV show The View (I don't even have cable TV), but I was sitting in the audience for today's live show.  I'd done this a couple of times before with my friend Margaret who got free tickets, and so I put in for tickets myself about two years ago.  And then, a couple of weeks ago, I received an email telling me I could attend today's show.  So why not?  They often give away free stuff on these shows.  A couple of years ago, Margaret and I walked away with over $500 worth of stuff.  Another time, nada.  You never know.

So we met up with our friend Nancy and took our place in line.  In the rain.  At the end of the show, we had a $100 AmEx gift card and guest artist Sarah McLachlan's new CD.  Better yet, we had a fun time at the show and at lunch afterward, so it was well worth the drive in to the city.

In thinking about what I could fall in love with today (and knowing it would not be a TV talk show), I thought about the view.  The view from High Point Monument, the view from Sunrise Mountain, the view when driving over Hawks Nest, the view at Buttermilk Falls.  These are local places that I cherish for their beauty.  I know I am fortunate to live in a place where these views are only a short drive away.  I seek them out when my soul needs some perspective and inspiration.

I am also fortunate to have visited other views not so close to home.  I have looked down into the rainforest while ziplining in Costa Rica.  I have viewed the incredible colors of fish and coral when snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.  I have followed the serpentine green of the Northern Lights in Iceland.  I have felt small while standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon or Oregon's Crater Lake.  I have looked up at the red hoodoo formations from the bottom of Utah's Bryce Canyon.  I have looked down on the rust-colored rooftops of Florence from Fiesole.

The world is full of amazing views.  Some are on the other side of the world, but some are in your own backyard.  I believe I am most in love with the view from my own front porch.  Whatever the view, it is probably better than the one on your TV screen.  And it just might be worth your love.