Last Sunday my wife and I went up to Mary’s Peak, the highest peak in the Oregon Coast Range.  It’s a great spot that affords commanding views of the Cascades, the Willamette Valley, and the Pacific Ocean.  The day we were there was sunny and beautiful, which made the scene all the more spectacular.

When my wife and I were dating (multiple decades ago) we used to go up to Mary’s Peak often.  We’d go with friends to have a picnic and watch the sun set.  Those were great times resulting in fond memories.  We’d sit up there and talk about future events and discuss how much we enjoyed living in and exploring the Pacific Northwest.  The views from Mary’s peak always left me feeling energized and excited to be alive.

Our visit last week was no different. As we hiked the summit and sat around enjoying the view, I felt the same familiar excitement I did all those years ago, and still feel today.   It’s an excitement to get out and experience the world around me.  An excitement to travel, try new things, to do my best at work and in my personal pursuits, to be the best husband, family member, employee, friend, and Christian I can be.

Naturally scenic settings, especially on sunny days, have always caused me to feel that way.  There’s something in their beauty that makes me want to do and be my best.  I was glad to see that my excitement by and for these places hasn’t changed.

Are there places that energize and cause you to want to do an be your best?  I encourage you to revisit, or even discover the places or events that get you excited to be alive.  Because the world needs people who excited about doing and being their best.

By the time this blog is posted, Halloween will be over, leaving Thanksgiving and Christmas rapidly approaching.  As I think about where these 3 holidays fall on the calendar, it causes me to wonder if that wasn’t by design versus merely a coincidence.  It seem that Thanksgiving is strategically positioned.  Here’s what I mean…

On one side of Thanksgiving you have Halloween.  The focus of Halloween, as I remember from childhood, is to get as much candy as you can.  And based on the kidos that come to my door every year, it seems like that focus hasn’t changed.  On the other side of Thanksgiving there’s Christmas, which at least in the US, can have a strong focus toward consumption and accumulation.

Right in the middle of these potentially greedy holidays, we have Thanksgiving.  The focus of which (along with the great food!) is to take a moment and remember what we have to be thankful for.  While giving thanks and gratitude may not be as fun as eating candy and opening presents, I think Thanksgiving serves as an important check point.  Instead of letting our Halloween sugar high propel us directly into the frantic consumptive pace of the Christmas season, let’s use the Thanksgiving season as a time to tap the brakes a bit on consumption recognize all we have to be grateful for.

My guess is the blessings you currently possess are far greater than any present you’ll find under the tree this year.