Tonight my son left camp in the middle of the Arizona desert without a flash light, he will hike all night and make his way to a pre-destined place in the morning where he will get his gear and leave for a 3 day solo trip. He is 15.

The journey he is on, I am on; it can be no other way.

It came to me last night that it was time for me to make my own journey, time for me to join him in spirit, time to do some of the heart work I've been putting  off. So tommorrow, after an early morning training session  I will shut off my phone, disconnect myself from the web and all interactions and take a journey into silence.

 I am embarking on 4 days of silence, a silence sabbatical of sorts, where I have agreed to work on one project solely-  and to stay in one place mostly- home and the beachfront and to refrain from talking, from running around, from doing much more than resting, writing, and reflecting to 4 days of being, of  listening to the still small voice within,  to being open to how the spirit directs and to reflecting.

I am hungry to find center again, starved for connection with peace, intent on quieting the busyness that seems to have taken over as of late. I want to delve into the silence and hear what it has to say to me.

Silence; I will be blogging about my 4 day journey next week-

 for now I am saying a silent prayer for the young man I love who is hiking thru the darkness miles away…

Pam Hoelzle

Life…it's not what I thought…