INSPIRED TUESDAY – A weekly pause for reflection, to inspire and be inspired.
When I was 21 (I’m now 52), I was invited to participate in a Vision Quest at the School of Lost Borders with Steven and Meredith Little. It was one of those moments in life where “Yes” was the only answer. The experience became one of the most transformative of my life.
I spent three days and three nights alone in the California desert on a hilltop overlooking Death Valley, with nothing more than several jugs of water, a flashlight, a tarp, and my sleeping bag.
During the days, I alternated between sitting in silence under a tree and carrying rocks to build my sacred circle. I wanted it to be just right, and because of that, I overcomplicated the process. What could have been simple became hard work.
The sacred circle was meant for the final night only, but I was so frightened during the first two nights that I curled up inside it. I intended my circle would protect me from animals—especially rattlesnakes—as if they couldn’t easily slither or step over the rocks.
On the third night, something shifted. I slept through the night and had a dream unlike any other. In it, I rode across the clear, star-filled sky on the back of a rattlesnake. When I woke the next morning, I felt a profound inner calm – a stillness I had never experienced before. I seriously considered not walking back to basecamp and staying out there instead. I felt deeply settled, as though life and I had merged into one.
On the fourth morning, I packed my things, scattered the rocks of my circle, and gave thanks to the desert, offering it my remaining water. Then I walked back to basecamp.
Over the next three days, my fellow questers and I shared our stories. They were reflected back to us by Steven, Meredith, and the other elder guides, who helped us uncover new depths and meanings in our stories.
I was gifted a quote by one of the elders that has stayed with me ever since:
“I will never settle for anything less than absolutely everything.”
While I still experience moments of unintentionally settling or overcomplicating, this quote lives in my awareness as a beautiful reminder and guiding light affirming that absolutely everything is available to all of us – in whatever way that may look for each of us.