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Meanderings from Jean's Desk....
Blog Archive
Feb 1, 2012: Transforming Our Thinking
Jan 2, 2012: Looking At Life From The Third Person This Year
Dec 15, 2011: There Is No Standing Still
Dec 1, 2011: Scarcity or Abundance?
Nov 15, 2011: Am I a Human Doing or a Human Being?
Oct 17, 2011: Seek Fresh Eyes To Ask Better Questions
Oct 1, 2011: Solving For A Greater Purpose
Sept 15, 2011: If Not Now Then When
August 22, 2011: Consider That Heaven Has A Better View
August 1, 2011: Though I May Not Be Gracious I Want Attention Too!
June 1, 2011: Albert Einstein And Problem Solving
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2009 Kenosha Business of the Year:
LMI Packaging Solutions, Inc.
Vision Quest
24 hours completely alone with nowhere to go except where you are. This was a modified version of an old Indian tradition whereby young braves entered manhood. I certainly wasn’t brave and manhood was not one of my objectives but the advisory board said to try it so I did.
You should know about me that once I commit to something it pretty much takes wild horses to turn me away. So with determination and a ton of scare I began planning my Door County Vision Quest.
No books and no writing paper. Only the food I needed to survive and anything else that would keep me alive for the next 24 hours.
First things first. Where would I sleep? Once I left the cottage at 8:00 am there was no going back till 8:00 am the next morning. I decided to pitch a pup tent up on the hill. At least I could see the cottage during the night and that felt safer.
Next challenge. There was no way I could possibly bring as much food as I felt I needed to eat. I’m a grazer and pretty much eat all day long every two hours. This challenge was too overwhelming for me to think about. I decided instead to just fast except for fruit and water. Don’t ask me why I picked fruit but I did; 2 apples and two bananas.
Then there were my glasses of course and my contact solution. I am sure every young brave brought those necessities with them. And last but not least, my most prized possession, toilet paper. I must confess that I had never to this point in my life, gone to the bathroom in the woods. Little did I know it would become the greatest adventure of the next 24 hours.
So with my backpack ready I stood at the door at 7:59 and waited for my watch to click to 8:00 and as it did I gingerly shut the door behind me. Immediately panic took over. Now what? I started to walk. Like Forest Gump, I walked and I walked and I walked and I walked. I know he ran but walking was all I could muster at that juncture of my life.
Over farmers’ fields, through cow pastures, along the water, and down country roads, I walked. Boredom set in quickly. I was used to a pretty fast paced life and thought I might go crazy after about two hours. Then I found my walking stick. I still have her and she is a beauty. We became fast friends. I began to tell her all about my life. She was one of the best listeners I have ever had. She never uttered a bit of advice and never told me I was nuts or not good enough. All she did was support me on my trek.
Finally my worst fear became a reality. After sipping water all morning I now had to go to the bathroom. Long story short it took me over an hour to find the perfect spot. Not so much because I wanted a comfortable place but because I was convinced it had to be hidden deep in the woods or someone with a camera who worked for the local newspaper would see me and tomorrow’s headline would read “CEO found peeing in the woods.” I have always had an overactive fear of being caught and forever being humiliated for doing something my mother always told me, good girls never did. I won’t give you the details of this part of my adventure but let’s just say it felt hugely risky. Just being there in the thick of the woods with the sun dappling thru the trees on the forest floor I searched for my perfect tree stump. This became the highlight event for the rest of my 24 hours. Walk an hour, search two hours for a safe place to go to the bathroom and then risk everything I knew to be right and ethical to live on the wild side. I was never a very rebellious child and this felt to me like I was breaking all the rules.
Eventually dusk set in and I found my way back to the tent. I crawled in and went to sleep at about 8:00. I didn’t want to be awake when it got dark because I knew I would be afraid of wild animals. You know; bears and lions and snakes. It got cold at night but I slept the twelve hours till morning and then my Vision Quest was over.
The weirdest thing happened though. I didn’t want to go in. I would end up setting my pup tent in the local state park and doing the same thing again a couple more times during the week. Each time I appreciated Mother Earth and the art she created in the sky at night, and the music she made in the forest during the day. I began to question everything I had always held true about how life was supposed to be. Again something shifted for me. I got clarity those two weeks like I had never had before. I continue to take walks yet today in those same woods with my walking stick always telling her what is going on in my life. She is still a great listener. And I always challenge myself about whether I am living a life of my own creation or one that I let just happen to me. I always get great revelations in the process. Try it and see what opens up for you.
Questions, comments for Jean?
If you have a question or comment, you can email Jean.
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