Solace. From the Latin word solar, meaning "to console." An elusive concept; an often times elusive experience. And one that I desperately seek at this moment. A chance to allow my emotional wounds to breathe; to heal from the day-to-day mental and emotional rigors. A solitary opportunity to clear my head from the cobwebs of confusion and chaos that formed over the week. Are you familiar with a similar experience?

Pssshh, pssshh. Breaking the plain of the morning-mirrored waters, my oars propel me forward, moving me further and further away from that which exhausts me, drains me...

Pssshh, pssshh... pssshh, pssshh...

Have you also found yourself from time to time on a never-ending merry-go-round? The week typically begins with a strong sense of purpose; then endless tasks and busied responsibilities seem to slowly whittle away your time, energy and focus. As the week progresses,  your focus and purpose seem to be reluctantly pushed to the sidelines as these other busied responsibilities take to the field. By week's end, you've lost sight of why you got out of the bed in the first place and the finale is always the same: needed escape to the watered refuge of the lake to momentarily lick your wounds; to recommit yourself to a stronger sense of personal purpose. And then you propel yourself back into the madness that begins with another week...

But not this morning, my friend. Not today. Pssshh, pssshh. I find myself propelling far away from this madness in my trusted canoe; gliding gently into a moment of simplicity. Just as I've done so many times in my youth. Pssshh, pssshh. Why don't you take a break from your week and join me on this canoe ride as well? There's enough room for you, me and our purpose, dreams, concerns and worries.

The skies are clear and the sun has lifted above the tree line, leaving the water to glisten like diamonds. The moment is ripe for a journey. You can feel it. And you and I are on just such a journey this morning.

Pssshh, pssshh.... To seek out and suck out every drop of solace that Life can share in a given moment; to paddle beyond the noise, to where our childhood passion was birthed in the gentle silence... and to find the origin of the river that feeds the lake upon which we find ourselves paddling. Pssshh, pssshh...

The familiarity of the family dock and the safety of the shore have long since disappeared behind us and we find ourselves rolling on the open water. It is the most precarious place for a canoe and its passengers to be, for with the winds' help, the water currents toss and pull us in multiple directions. Balance is everything in these tumultuous waters. Pssshh, pssshh...

In our present everyday life, we easily feel the tugs of multiple priorities and responsibilities that occupy almost every one of our waking moments. Decisions to hang on, decisions to let go. Decisions to go with the flow, decisions to go against the tide. And what are these  decisions based on? Consciously or unconsciously, those elements of our life, our existence, that we value the most. We value, we decide, and then we attempt to balance it all.

As for you, what is it that you are doing to keep your canoe, your life journey, balanced in the sometimes tumultuous waters? Amidst all your responsibilities, what are you presently doing to keep focused on what is the most important in your life? And what is it that is most important in your life right now?

Up ahead, amidst the arching reeds on the southwestern side of this grand and active lake, we are lucky enough to find the undisturbed river channel. It is the very life source of this lake and the inlet toward our further journey. Pssshh, pssshh. Moving swiftly our of the tossing waters, we glide past the reeds, each welcoming us toward the gateway that will soon become the flowing river. Pssshh, pssshh...

There was a time, not that long ago, when we were "just starting out." We finished our additional education and training, we interviewed, we waited and we interviewed more. And just before that first big break that began what has become either a series of advancements or along-standing career, we found ourselves surrounded in anxiousness and anticipation. And encasing that anxiousness and anticipation was a youthful hope; a hope of making a difference, of fully understanding ourselves, of sharing our life with another, or finding that deeper meaning and satisfaction.

As for you, my friend, what is it that excited your most just before you began your specific career? Are you where you thought you would be? Are you who you thought you would become? Of what were you most anxious and hopeful? What was your greatest anticipation?

Leaving the river's channel, we suddenly find ourselves gliding in the "river's heartbeat." It is that point in the water's journey where it takes on a life as a series of gently focused ebbs and tides; slowly coaxing the water from its quiet origin, on its way to the collective mass of water that waits. Pssshh, pssshh. It is here where the river seems most alive and yet the resistance to our paddles decreases. It is here where the river becomes a stream. Slowly, gradually. Pssshh, pssshh...

We remember well those moments of studying, of mentoring, of deciding....of waiting. We had all the dreams and ambitions, but the skills and knowledge needed some time to catch up with us. And so we studied and socialized...and waited. It wasn't an uncomfortable waiting. It was a welcomed waiting that gave us time to speak of grandiose dreams and high ambitions; of noble purposes and grand causes. It was a waiting that invited us to see the possible and impossible within the same potential dreams.
As for you, my friend, what specific dreams did you have in high school and college? What were your going to set out to do so as to "set the world on fire?" What were the possible paths that were open to you at the time? What were the impossible paths that could be open to you, if you wanted? About what is it that you daydreamed?

Shhhh...can you hear it? The water has become almost silent enough to hear our own heartbeat, matched with the rhythm of the paddling. Pssshh, pssshh. It is here where Nature seems to close in around the water's edge; to surround and protect its eventual spectacular journey. The water cools to the shade of the forest canopy and all manner of wildlife are seen sipping its calm sweetness from the river shore. Pssshh, pssshh...

The youthful play and protection of days gone by. In our games and our play, we were anyone and anything. Each day was our stage; each moment was our play. We slayed dragons, made tea, conquered evil and played dress-up...all before noon lunch. And then we went on to save the world and our friends with our games of fun and fortune. It was a grand time where make-believe became "make-real."

As for you, my friend, what were the most important things to you, as a child? In what did you absolutely love involving yourself? What were your favorite games and fantasies? What were your most cherished childhood  memories spent doing? And how is that child within still alive in your work and play today?

Where has the time gone, my friend? Pssshh, pssshh...We've paddled far into the morning's sun and we have finally found ourselves in the water too shallow for our canoe....and yet, the river trickles further upstream. Pssshh, pssshh... From here, we'll have to wade to the source.

Pooled, the water becomes silent. Still. Sacred. And where it stills, the forest floor begins. Here lies the uneventful and ambiguous source for which we've been searching.

As with so many journeys and expeditions, the end leads to another beginning. For many adventures, there remains no definitive clear-cut origin, no tangible source. But even just as one does not remember the first years of life, those years- with certainty- existed. Cared for and nurtured, we grew. And even just as one cannot see the distinctive source of origin for one's passion, it- with certainty- exists... cared for and nurtured, it also grew.

As for you, my friend, what are your sources of energy and satisfaction in Life? What remains silently restless inside you- a hope, a dream, a passion waiting to burst forth? During the quiet times in your life, what stirs inside you? An anxiousness or excitement to accomplish or realize what?

The multiple directions, the strong currents the focused ebbs and tides, the calm waters, the silent pools. They are each an integral part of us. They tell of and mark our own journey toward and away from our own origin; the very source of our child-like passion and faith. They are the waves on which our personal passion has matured and grown. Rest assured, stilled waters grow stagnant and so, our trickle, our stream, our river must flow and grow, if to remain alive. It must leave its source and continue on,, melding with new tributaries and other lives.

Pssshh, pssshh...

And just as natural tributaries add to an already flowing river, so the added responsibilities and life experiences add to our own flow of passion and faith. They merge and meld with them- adding to the complexity and strength of our passion. It is a strength that increases in energy, supporting that passion. It is also a strength that increases in energy, supporting that passion. It is also a strength that increases in volume, sometimes overpowering and distracting from that fragile passion. It remains a delicate but powerful balance.

Pssshh, pssshh...

The  beauty of the river itself is that it remains to be traveled in both directions: away from and toward our passion's origin. It is our choosing to decide the direction that is most needed for us at any given time. Regardless of the water we find ourselves on, that passion pulses beneath us-gliding us, moving us, directing us. It is that passion that gracefully poses the question, time and time again, "As for you, my friend..." And it is within the answers where we befriend that solace once again.

Pssshh, pssshh...

It is a great day to canoe, my friend. And canoe, we will again. For it is on these waters we must continue to journey through Life. But regardless of the din and excitement of the chaos and complexity on the open waters, it is the pooled silence of our passion that loudly beckons us...and we are eventually drawn back upstream. For it is in this pooled silence, this glorious stilled potential of our childhood passion and faith, where we will always find our greatest solace. 

By Lee Hoedl