Early last week I looked at my calendar and saw a rare phenomenon: five days in a row, with almost no appointments or meetings. That never happens! So I seized the opportunity and on the spur of the moment scheduled a personal retreat.

I drove to a retreat center six hours away — convertible top down, stereo volume up. Wind blowing in my hair and sun warming my skin. The drive alone was therapeutic.

I spent five glorious days in almost total silence, completely unplugged. No phone calls, no technology, no data base, no spreadsheets, no Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, no texts, no emails, no TV, no news. Nothing short of a miracle to accomplish that complete disconnect!

Each day I took long walks. I practiced my yoga poses in the grass on top of a hill. Spent lots of time in reflection, meditation, journaling and prayer. I even took naps!

I had forgotten it was possible to live without a Blackberry in my hand and a BlueTooth in my ear.

The surprising thing? Life went on fine without me. The world did not come to a crashing halt because I was not participating. Although I heard that the stock market took a tumbleandhellip;do you think that’s because I wasn’t working?

Professional women’s live have become a continuous stream of frenzied movement. We live by our calendars and to-do lists. We compulsively organize and create efficiencies so that we can put even more on our lists!

We are cramming so much into every moment of the day that even the few things we do for ourselves andndash; a pedicure or massage here or there andndash; become one more item to check off our lists. We become mechanized and automated.

But every now and then we need to still the waters and see who is living in this skin.

I’m glad I did. (I think my friends are glad I did too!) When I left I felt as dry as our soil that became so parched from the summer heat. Each day away brought a fresh blanket of dew, the moisture I needed to rehydrate.

I returned to my office today refreshed and energized. I was so happy that on the drive to work I wanted to wave and smile at other drivers in traffic.

As this summer comes to a close and fourth quarter goals stare us in the face, I hope you too will take a time out andndash; unplug, disconnect and spend some time with yourself.

Still the waters.