Tomorrow I leave for a two-week business trip that will no doubt be a constant test of my patience and fortitude. Given the tenuous situation at work, I expect this will be my most-challenging stretch, professionally speaking, in 14 years in the work force. And I once had a supervisor throw something at me, so that's saying a lot.

While at my parents' house over the weekend, I snapped the following picture while playing on the beach with Crazy Matthew as the sun set Saturday. My plan is to visualize this serene scene whenever the going gets rough.

My hope is that this mental picture, combined with a refrain of "Serenity Now," will help see me through.