How many sunrises and sunsets have you missed being busy? As of the last few years, I have made it a part of my day and life to get somewhere to see the sunrise or sunset. Of course, we don’t always get them in Oregon, but when they are there, why wouldn’t I make the time to go enjoy it? It’s absolutely free and fills my heart with so much joy.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend invited me to go on a sunset hike and he said he would bring cheese and wine. Of course I didn’t want to pass that up! As I was driving to his house, it started to downpour. I mean, I could hardly see while driving down the road. Had I not made the commitment to go, I would have just stayed home, but we were going to do this, rain or shine, sunset or not. As we made our way through the gorge, the rain wasn’t lightening up one bit. We hit the trail and got absolutely soaked, but the conversation was good and we were two of very few people out there.
When we got to the top, it was still pouring, but off in the distance looking at Portland, the sun was really shining through the clouds. We were in awe of the beauty in front of us. The sunset was spectacular and it looked like some of the clouds were on fire! I was so high on life at that moment! A few days later, I received an email regarding that wet sunset hike from my friend that I was up there with, “My favorite moment was when you threw up your hands facing the gorge at Angel’s rest, gave a pressured grunt, and yelled, “THIS IS MY DRUG!” That was badass, not going to lie, and seriously, I couldn’t feel any more the same at that moment. Awesome, awesome experiences shared.”
If something like a sunrise or sunset gets you so pumped about life, why aren’t you out enjoying it? After a very sluggish day yesterday after too much wine the night before, I put it in my mind that I would set my alarm for 4am, take my thyroid medication, give myself an hour before I could have a cup of coffee and run out the door to catch the sunrise. I needed to see today in a different light than yesterday and the appreciation I gathered from standing in front of that mountain and the sun rising over the valley below it, was just what I needed to get myself going!
What makes your heart glow? There are so many things free in this world to enjoy and enlighten us… I hope you have something so simple and attainable in your life that you can go to for that kind of fulfillment! May you be Fortunately Loving Life!
Here are some sunrises and sunsets I have captured with my camera in the last few weeks:
Fortunately Loving Life 