When was the last time you looked at a map hopelessly trying to find out where you are? It used to be quite a common occurrence. If we had no map, we would find somebody and ask them. If there was nobody around, we’d just keep walking. We never panicked.
We were resourceful enough to know, with enough tenacity and bonhomie; we would find ourselves un-lost soon enough. It was quite a satisfying experience. To be truly lost is to let go. So much of our life is controlled. We have heat, light, food and water on tap. We can connect into the metaverse (what the f&ck is that?) anywhere we go. Every inch of this planet can be located by just using 3 words. There is so little surprise. Everything just works and we always know where we are. We're not designed to be in control.
We're designed to flex and adapt to our environment and answer the surprises that are within it. And when we do so we feel incredibly alive and connected with something way bigger than just us. We need to get lost now, we need to let go.
You can do this quite literally by going for a long walk taking turns you have never taken and pushing further and further away from things that are familiar.
Don't worry - you will get back. But, equally, in life we need to get lost. Having plans in our head about what we will do with our careers, where we will live, what we will do when the kids leave home, how it will feel when the mortgage is paid off… It's all just a fantasy.
Life never ends up being what we have planned and hurrah for that. Resigning to the fact that featured organs would be way more technical than we can ever imagine can really help us be present today. When we admit that we don't really know where we're going and have very little control over its direction a pressure is often lifted. People take security out of thinking that they have a plan that will actually happen. But the security should be taken in knowing that we all have exactly what we need to deal with whatever unfolds. And that's where our confidence should lie.
We are all ultimately lost. Let's enjoy that journey. And next time you leave your front door; turn left and not right.
Photo by marianne bos on Unsplash
