getting deep in the northwoods...

If you've ever read any of my posts before you know full well that I wear my emotions on my sleeve.  I get super deep here all the time.  Mostly because that is how I want to live.  Obviously these posts would reflect that journey to live inspired.  I recently returned from an annual family trip to Northern Wisconsin.  The Schaetz clan and my own have made this northern migration for over 25 years.  The memories are priceless, and the moments are as rich as ever.  Sally, mother of the Schaetz tribe, has been in the flight of her life with cancer.  She is an inspiration and a guide.  Watching her see life through the eyes of someone who is relishing in each and every moment with the appreciation that only a cancer fighter can understand.  I can't understand, but I can gain inspiration and wisdom from her life's example.  Her husband, Dave, is one tough "hombre" too.  Not only has he been right by Sally's side throughout, but the morning after Christine and I got there he had to rush off to surgery for a detached retina.  I would have been a wreck with the threat of blindness lingering, but he was as jubilant as ever as he explained to our disappointed faces that he had to rush home to go under the knife.  Glad I got a little time to hang out with him, but I sure was missing his story telling around the campfires the rest of the week.  Good news though is that they were able to put him all back together again.  We could enjoy ourselves a little more once we knew he was seeing straight again.    

^Calm waters and blue skies lifted our spirits from the docks of North Twin Lodge near Eagle River, Wisconsin.  This place and these lakes have a special place in my soul.

^My brother's wife, Nicole, myself, and my dad watch with nervous energy as Sally awaits her eldest son, Mike, to give the boat the throttle to pull her out of the water.  Sally set a goal to take a ski run on this trip.  Last year she resisted, but this year she was going for it.  Her cancer has severely weakened one of her arms, and she basically had to pull herself out with one arm tied behind her back.  Try that one on for size.

^Sally has the will of a tiger, and there was no doubt amongst us that she would pull it off.  Watching her was an inspiration and a blessing that I will carry with me for a long, long time.  

 ^My mother has not skied in a dog's age, but Sally's stellar show convinced her that it was time to give it another go around.  

 ^There she goes! Overcoming her apprehensions, once again.

 ^All the excitement and my big brother, Tyler, needed to take a break.  Some of the best napping I ever do is on the old sofas in the crisp northern air of these cabins.

 ^My pops, Nicole, and Lynn Schaetz appear to be trying to talk Lynn's young daughter, Evelyn, into something.  Evelyn was so fun to watch as she made leaps and bounds in her quest to swim.  She made it all the way to the raft, and even did some assisted cannon balls.  Three cheers for her!

^Nicole, and my wife, Christine, dropped the pontoon bikes into the lake for a stroll.  Not a care in the world out there.  Except maybe whether or not they'll have the legs to get back to shore.  In an environment like that, who cares?

 ^My old man taking advantage of the crystal clear calm waters to glide around the shoreline for a bit.  

^Our faithful watcher.  Eagles and Osprey streak the sky in these parts keeping a watchful eye to all the action.  Very cool.

  

 ^Evelyn got out of the water every now and then to rip some laps on the three wheeler.  I can respect the need for some ripping.  Hammer down, Evy.

 ^My mom and dad chilling on the deck after a beautiful day.  Two families of friends around an outdoor dinner table on the deck is the real deal kind of stuff.  So thankful for times like these.

   

 ^Of course, bocci ball calls for less dinner conversation and more smack talking.  I think that is everyone's favorite part.  Ribbing your neighbor, and gunning for their ball.  Good times.

 ^Evelyn, telling Grandma Sally how it is.  She has blossomed into quite an entertaining young personality, and Grandma is eating it up every last drop of it.  Doesn't get much cuter then that.

^My old man drawn to one of his old past times.  Fire poking.

^Soon to be newlyweds, Bobby Schaetz, and his fiance, Jenna.  I don't know about you all, but to me she appears to be happy with her decision to keep him around in this photo.  Christine and I are already super pumped to see all these folks again at their wedding in Minnesota just over a month from now.  Congrats, Bob and Jenna.

^Evy and her Momma enjoying the campfire classics.

^This annual trip always leaves me in a good place when it's over.  This year, as I reflect, I am grounded yet again.  I take deep inspiration, wisdom, and appreciation from Sally.  I take a lot of things away from all of it, and everyone there.  Each and every one of the Schaetz clan inspires me in many different ways.  My family and I are blessed to have life-long friends like them.  My brother said it to me very well when he uttered the observation of, "families full of friends, and friends that are like family."   

photos and a song...

So here is a new idea for me.  I have always said that my site is all about the photos and videos.  I am trying to become a better writer here as well.  I value storytelling in my life, and am striving to continue improving.  As a result, I am always shooting pictures to help tell the stories of my crazy life.  It seems I have racked a few up that I don't have killer stories for, but just beautiful visual memories.  Also, I have embedded a John Butler Trio song here, "Ocean" to enrich the experience.  So here is the deal.  Play the song video and then scroll through the photos and captions.  (you may have to watch the song video once just because it is amazing)

^This guy is unreal.  His band is as well.  Just got a new "Live at the Red Rocks" album that is killer.

 ^Sunsets are easy inspiration.  No matter where you are.

^New natural gas pipeline going in over Bountiful.  Double prop helicopters where delivering material.

 ^The pipeline track through the hills.

 ^Restricted from proceeding during construction, we watched the show of human aspiration.

 ^Green and blue.  We get a lot of blue in Utah, but the green is a real treat.

 ^Murphy in the tall grass.  She loves it.

^More human geo-engineering.

^Metaphor?

 ^Expansive sunsets from gate B6.

^That is one big machine.

 ^"I got a golden ticket."

 ^More sunset inspiration.

^Another metaphor?  If so, then I am busting out.

 ^Cloud show.

 ^ Free admission.

 ^Appreciative patron.

 ^Duality.  Why not?

^Barbed beauty.

 ^Mo' greens.

^This break was unsanctioned, but well received.

 ^On a wing and a prayer.

^ Routine can be mundane.  Unless you look closely to find the splendor within it.

work, work, work... but wait?

Work, work, work.  All day, every day.  However, I've got to do what I've got to do.  I know that.  But wait.  I also need to keep my head right in order to make the best moves possible.  Remember, I always go on and on about that one.  The pressure of jumping into the abyss of risk with both feet is immense.  Joining a new team, and being the rookie again is a challenge I know all too well.  However, it never gets any easier or less daunting at the start line.  Again, I believe that balance is key, like I mentioned last post.  I am super pumped on the momentum of things.  Therefore, I must have the balance to make the poised moves necessary to pounce on the opportunities.

^Just when you think your on the wrong end of something so much more powerful then you.  That is when it is more important than ever to seize the day and overcome the pressures in order to then rise above.  Therein lies greatness.

  

^Sometimes a lot of work can begin to close in and take over.  As I explained last post, finding the moments within the madness is still an ongoing struggle.  A struggle to get body and mind right to make the most of the opportunities that are at the heart of the pressures.  Transform pressure to inspiration, and then inspiration to motivation.  Deep in the Detroit airport tunnel of woes traveling from gate to gate lies a metaphor.  Is that light at the end of that tunnel?  I think it is.

^Another one.  Is Murphy leading me out of this cage of pressure toward inspiration?  She is trustworthy, and usually spot on.  So I follow.

 ^All metaphors aside, I can count on my wife to read my energy.  She insisted an early morning mountain bike ride before my night shift at the airport was my path through the ying and yang issue within me.

^Moments before I snapped this photo, as I watched Christine ascend a tough hill in front of me was when the "I am back" moment descended onto me.  It fell on me with the dust from her back tire.   I was back to where I needed to be.  I was feeling the balance.  Also, just in time because Christine was already soldiering up the hill, and disappearing fast.  

 ^It wasn't a long ride.  Just a perfect ride.  The tunnel in Detroit and Murphy were both telling me it was possible, but Christine delivered me.  The balance was there.  I merely needed to actively seek it again.  

^If you cannot arrive at inspiration from this perspective, then you'd better check your pulse because you may be dead.  

^After the ride, I was off to the night shift at the airport.  With balance and inspiration on my side the labor took on a new light.  Seemed to me that motivation was setting in.  Again, just in time for Monday morning.  The first real weekday to run with the torch that the folks over at Height of Land have handed me.

^This is kind of what inspiration looks like.  Finding it even while on the clock.  No all good or all bad.  Good within the bad, bad within the good, and open minded acceptance of existence within the wax and wane of it all.

^The universe was giving me what I needed.  Friday was the landing from the 30,000 foot whirlwind.  Saturday gave me the chance to get my shit back together.  Sunday brought me to the doorstep of inspiration.  All coming with perfect timing for me to make the move to motivation for Monday morning.  A new week at the base of a whole mountain of task in front of me.  Time to start the climb.  Step by step.  One foot in front of the other with balance, quality, and poise in precisely the proper direction.   

moments within the madness...

This is the time of year that I go balls to the walls in my off-slope endeavors.  Often times, I grow a beard, go to a dark place, and get to work.  I can get wrapped up in all of it, and loose my cool.  I value that cool and calm nature as an asset to my life and businesses.  Therefore, it is important for me to make sure to retain a quality balance.  I recently explained to friend and photoman, Jon Gurry, "You know how I have a lot of entrepreneurial pokers in the fire.  Well, they are all burning red hot right now and need to be hammered out to take advantage of the developmental opportunity.  All at the same time.  I am going like crazy right now!"  His reply, "Beauty, good craziness then."  He was right, but it meant that I couldn't give up.  I had to keep pushing.  Going like crazy is a blessing these days.  I simply had to take moments within the madness to seek out balance.  

^My night job at the airport can get hard to swallow sometimes.  It seems that too much "screw your neighbor" and "sneak away from duty" around me can get me down.  I try to rise above these kinds of concerns.  It is harder then I remember sometimes.  That is why they call it a job.  Right?  I have also been in the middle of tough negotiations with a local bank to make some deals in my real estate endeavors.  All the while diving head first into off-slope work with Telemark Skier Magazine.  The momentum and excitement over there is so contagious.  I am completely consumed.  Hours melt in my home office going to task on all the big projects we have going.  Super exciting.  However exciting, mundane, or frustrating all this work in all these directions can get, I love the variety.  I simply need to make sure that when I get caged up by all the labor that I need to make time to relieve the pressure.   

^Luckily for me, I live in the lonely northern Wasatch.  I can cross the street and ascend high above all the worldly concerns of my daily pursuits.  I can't stay up here for long, but all I need are a few of these kinds of moments within the madness to tap the pressure valve.  I try to harness the inspiration to fuel the motivation to push harder then ever.

^I have to take advantage of all of the red hot situations.  However, to fully utilize my efforts I must have my mind right in order to make the best strikes on the irons as possible.  I believe in making a real effort to find the balance that will inspire quality movements in all of my endeavors.  This double waterfall that only runs in spring is bigger then I've ever seen it.  It's naturally cyclical process adds value to the sight of it.  Like me, it is pushing harder then ever right now.  I am inspired.  I will harness it.   

^Of course, the support of a pair like Christine and our pup, Murphy, behind me makes each of the pursuits that much more rich and worth while.  They make me want to do it all, and they make doing it all a little bit easier.  Seems like good influence to me.  Balance is the name of the game.  Seeking it is a righteous task.  Feeling it, even if only for a moment, is inspiration to continue the endless pursuit.  Onward.