We spent the weekend at our favorite fly fishing only lake up in the mountains. No motors are allowed on the lake which eliminates 99.7% of the knuckleheads from camping there. It's a peaceful place for us. The lake is clear, the mountain air is clean, the scenery is killer and the soul rejuvenation factor is huge.

When life is a little spotty a trip to this lake brings everything back into perspective. The serenity that surrounds you allows for calm introspection. It is somewhat of an escape from the realities of daily life however it also allows you to clarify what's important.

Along the lake is a trail called Trail of the Cedars. It's about .7 of a mile to the Cedar grove at the other end of the lake and then another quarter mile up the creek to the fish viewing platform where the native Cutthroat trout spawn. It's this trail where I've made a lot of critical decisions in my life or clarified my current goals. Back in 97 it was on this trail where I decided I needed to go back to school and take action to improve life for myself and more importantly my family.

A walk through the woods with a lake below you and miles of forest above you does that to me. Saturday we took the trail again. The kids ran ahead and my wife and I quietly walked together enjoying the silence of the woods. Once again I clarified the current path I'm on. Yes, things are stressful. Sure my recent decision to quit my job was not the most thought out but it's forced me to take positive steps forward on a path I've let get overgrown for far to long. If I hadn't have quit recent steps forward would still be pipe dreams. Will it be easy? Nope. No two ways around that but when have I ever shied away from something because it was hard?

We get to the Cedar Grove and stood amongst the towering trees and it crystallized in my mind. As these Cedars have done for hundreds of years, I have to grow. One foot in front of the other brings growth. Like the Cedars, onward and upward.