Wonder View

Climbing up into and around the hills of Hollywood, it is, I believe, a well-named street:  Wonderview.

It's well-named because of what you experience when you get to the top: as Wonderview winds around you are treated to panoramic views of this amazing City of the Angels.  From one side, with Hollywood literally at your feet, you can see both East and Westsides, Downtown and Mid-Wilshire and Century City...and on a clear day the Baldwin Hills and the Bay.  Circle around and the San Fernando Valley spreads out in front of you--Universal City and beyond: the Verdugos, the San Gabriels, the Angeles National Forest.  It's a wonderful view.

But on a glorious and clear morning, as I struggle to pedal to the top, another reason the street is well-named comes to mind.  You see, through my grunting and grinding and panting and sweating I start to wonder if the view is really going to be worth the effort it takes to get there.

Life is like that, isn't it?  So often we wonder if it's worth the effort--the grunting and grinding and panting and sweating--when suddenly the view becomes clear and we are treated to a slice of the sublime.  We stop wondering and simply view.

And I suppose the trick is simply this: as we struggle along from day to day, grinding away in a seemingly endless climb, to remember what's coming and just keep going. 

Because the view from the top is wonderful.