I picked up a magazine the other day.  Inside was an article about "The 10 Best Places To Watch A Sunset."

This was the day after I had been witness to a gorgeous Blount County sunset. 

Let me tell you a little bit about where I live.  We built our house on the top of a ridge that has a pretty good view of our mountains.  We can always see Chilhowee Mountain and on most days can see beyond to the Smokies.

On a clear day, we can see from Thunderhead Mountain to Gregory Bald.  It's why we bought the property. 

When we built our house, I wanted it turned away from the road a bit so that it ran parallel to the mountains.  I wanted to take full advantage of the mountains.  Our builder thought that would be "weird" but did it that way anyway.

From our mailbox, you can see to the Cumberland Plateau on a clear day.   I was always told that you couldn't sell a view or something like that but the bottom line is that it was what I wanted...it was where I wanted to build my house.

Then, when I drive into town, I see Maryville with the backdrop of Three Sisters.  It's one of my favorite things.   And everybody in Blount County gets the same thing.  I bet half the houses here have a decent view of the lake or the mountains.

My first reaction to that magazine article was to look to see if Blount County happened to be on the list.  Alas, it was not.  The list of 10 had places that were memorable for what you see when you look down, not when you look up. 

Places like the Grand Canyon.  Key West.  The Empire State Building.

But they missed the point.  Those are your surroundings, not your view.  To enjoy a sunset, you've got to look up.   And given the right atmospheric conditions, a gorgeous sunset can happen anywhere.  It belongs to no one area, no one locale. 

Beautiful pinks and oranges fringed by the perfect blue.   Clouds that might be wispy or might be fluffy.  Colors so perfect that you don't want to look away because there's a chance that they will be there only for a moment and then be gone.

There are many times that I've seen that sunset and ran inside to tell me wife to come look at what I found.  It might seem child-like to her but she long ago discovered how and when to indulge me.  

Too often life got in the way and when we stepped outside, the majesty was gone.

So by now you may be wondering where this is going.   I've got several points to all this, most of which have some relevance to the sports pages where you find this.

See the beauty of where you are.  It doesn't matter where you are right now, it can still be a beautiful place.  And place is less important than the view.  The game is hard?  Yeah it is, but at that moment, do you really want to be anywhere else?

Seize the moment.  Enjoy where you are right then, right there.  I've heard plenty of coaches tell their players to enjoy a good win or a solid effort.  Not long ago, I wrote here about enjoying the sights and smells, even of practice.

Look up, not down. Keep your head up so you don't miss what is most valuable around you. 

When things are tough, know that there's a sunset to see somewhere.  And when it comes, at that moment it doesn't belong to anybody but you.