FINDING YOUR WAY
There is nothing like moving to a new location to bring up what it feels like to be lost. I now live in a place that has everything I need within a 2-mile radius and I still feel lost. I tried making a simple trip to the grocery store and still needed help getting back.
I think it harkens back to our early years when getting separated from our parents in a crowd was a terrifying experience to contemplate. Now I am in a car and not 5 years old and I am breathing deeply every time I go somewhere.
It is such a perfect opportunity to trust – to practice knowing that no matter the circumstances, we will find our way. To deepen our faith in life itself and its friendliness to us – always.
There have been many times in my life that I have begun something new. Years ago I moved to San Francisco from the same part of the country that I now live again, and the world felt like my oyster. I am certain I was lost a lot of the time, and yet I found my way to knowing the City by the Bay as well as I know my name. Every day was an adventure, and every encounter was a delight.
I have tried not to blame the aging factor as the cause for all this need for deep breathing – after all there was no GPS back in the day. I also must say that being back in the mid-west has proven conclusively that people are different in this neck of the woods. Example: Getting lost on my way back from the grocery store, I stopped at a local eatery to get directions. (yes women get directions) After struggling with that phone map thing, he said to me – how about if I drive there and you follow me-its not far. Never in my life has that happened and I felt so relieved, so grateful and so impressed…as I said to myself…I am back in the mid-west. No criticism to my west coast experience, but really isn’t the world all about us?
That simple kindness reminds me of two things…the first being the focus of this blog. We will always find our way – even if we are of a certain age – we will use whatever common sense we can come up with (mine was asking for help) and more importantly there will always be a need for more than ourselves.
Each morning, I realize I am in a new place- I am living a new life- and it is scary and I miss my friends. Each day I know that I need more trust and grace to find my way.
As we head into a week of stress and fear, lets remember that we will find our way – no matter how it goes. Lets also remember that we never do it alone – that the kindness of strangers is absolute. That Trust will solve every problem we face in this turbulent time.
Keep the faith!
