Spring Adult Wilderness Quest

Spring Adult Wilderness Quest Reflections

We were different people from different cities going different directions. We met for one moment of life transformation and redirection in the wilds of Washington. This was a path we had chosen for answers…for clarification…because we knew this is what we were called to do even if we didn’t know why.

During the Spring Adult Wilderness Quest this year we blurred the lines of wildlife, self, and Gaia and found a deeper appreciation for the relationships we have built, the love that we give and receive, and the sacrifice of the trees and the animals that give us life. Kneeling before elk we became vulnerable. Our connection became powerful. Following the eagle’s path we became lost. We are now found. Dancing around a snake, we shed our old skin. In our hunger for more, we created new skin. Whatever we needed, this quest became medicine for our soul.

The challenges we faced were by choice. The victories we made were because of the inner gifts that we both uncovered and sharpened; and because of structure and heart of the Rite of Passage Journeys organization. The staff – Helen, Cassandra, Kirt – walk the walk and talk the talk in ways that are authenticate and heartfelt. They see your passion…they draw you near…they hold you close…and they help you dig deep and push through in ways that go beyond community – they become family.

Although nine days seemed like an enormous amount of time at the beginning, it became a blur of reality that left us with big, satiated smiles. We spent three days acknowledging and releasing our expectations and intentions of what a quest is and could be. Three days were spent alone, fasting, facing our fears, overcoming our challenges, and learning that we are stronger, more intuitive, more loved and capable of love than we ever knew. And then we finished with three days of no longer hiding behind the masks of our past existence. Without judgment we were welcomed. Even though some of us were tempted to leave during the hardest parts of the journey, we are now happy that we stayed. The last two days of the entire experience became the most critical, important part.

If it is true, you do not learn until you have time to reflect then we have only just begun to appreciate the gift of the Spring Adult Wilderness Quest experience. There was a combination of the natural and the sacred that resonated with each of us, enabling us to breathe, pray, and stomp our way through like warriors. In the end we are just like you. We are teachers, students, advocates, artists, advisers, therapists, guides, administrators, planners… and we are chosen. So are you.

Welcome home.

--Katie, Janel, Nadine, Candace, Jay, Julie, Tiffany, and Meris