Obstacles

One of my favorite things to do is to hike in the mountains. I am lucky to live close to Kennesaw Mountain National Park which contains a system of trails that winds throughout Cobb County. I have been hiking the mountain for over a year now and on my hike yesterday ,I noticed some changes to the trail. As I began my hike, with my I-Pod playing my favorite tunes, I noticed the first dramatic change to the trail. What was this in my way? MUD...Could it be a mud puddle? Now ,normally a mud puddle is no big deal, but today ,it marked a change in the terrain that I was not used to seeing. You see, here in Cobb County Georgia we have been in an extreme drought. I have not seen a puddle on that trail in over a year. It has been a year of dry land, no rain, no outdoor watering ( my car is always dirty by the way)- NO MUD PUDDLES...

The second obstacle I came upon on my venture was a tree across the trail. The storm that also brought the much needed rain also brought down a tree and it was right in my path. The thing about the tree being down is that now it will always be an obstacle on this trail as this is a National Park and they do not remove fallen trees from the path. 

You know ,this got me to thinking. There are always obstacles in life. What matters is how you handle those obstacles. When you come to the MUD PUDDLE are you more apt to trudge right through it, jump over it, go around it or simply turn around? Do you get STUCK IN THE MUD and have a hard time getting out of it? Same with the tree in the way. The only way to get past the obstacle is to go over it or simply turn around.

Right now, the Real Estate Industry is going through a big obstacle. How are you handling this slow muddy market? Are you just trudging through or are you finding your way around and over? Are there so many obstacles in the way that you really just feel like turning around and going the other way? Are you making changes in the way you manage your business in order to get through the mud and come out on the other side?

As I finished my walk down the mountain, the last change I noticed was water flowing through a ditch that has been dry for over a year. I couldn't believe there was actually water flowing in this ditch. The drought is getting better. The lakes are starting to fill back up. The dry spell seems to be going away. The Real Estate market is going through a dry spell right now but eventually this obstacle will come to an end and the dry market will be over. We don't know how long that will take but eventually things will get better. We don't go through storms and droughts for no reason. There is always a lesson to be learned. If I had turned around on my walk due to the muddy water, I would not have made it to the top of the mountain. You see, the view from the top is like no other. I can see the Blue Ridge Mountains on one side and the Atlanta Skyline on the other. And every now and then, especially in the summer, I get to see the most beautiful deer cross my path (yet another obstacle but one I wouldn't trade for anything). Getting to the top of the mountain is well worth the climb up- obstacles and all...