Augie (my shepherd) and I were on a walk and decided to take a path we have not explored before. It didn’t take long for us to get lost. Upon realizing we were lost, I noticed my attention was split; part of it was focused on finding clues to figure out where I was and the other part was thinking about who I could call for help, or using google GPS to find my way out. Then my inner voice kicked in and I realized that I didn’t have shit to do, or anywhere to be. I redirected my thinking to being comfortable being lost and looked at the mission of finding our way back as an adventure with Augie.
Sooner or later, we would find our way, or we would phone for help. Soon as I came to terms with this new thought process, Augie and I began enjoying our walk again. We had a few conversations with some nice people along the way, as we roamed their neighborhoods. Then as we continued wandering we became familiar with the surroundings and within a moment were no longer lost.
What was interesting was the moment we realized we were no longer lost. We came up to the golf course my in-laws live on from an angle I have never seen before. I could tell it was a golf course, but it looked so unfamiliar from this new perspective. Then I realized that there was no other golf course in the area, so I had to be it. However, I was so turned around that I wasn’t sure until I was in the middle of the green on the 15th hole.
A feeling of comfort came over my body once I realized we were no longer lost. For one, I didn’t have to embarrassingly call my wife to come to get me, and two that being lost and “knowing” where you are can simply be a matter of perspective. I knew the golf course very well, I have played countless times and have roamed around it with Augie countless more. But until I was in the middle of the green, I still felt lost. It wasn’t until my perspective matched the angle of the golf course, that I was familiar with, did I become aware of my surroundings again.
I wonder how many times in life we feel lost only to be in a familiar place. We are just viewing our surroundings from a different perspective or are positioned in it from a different angle. Maybe being lost is just an angle we have not seen before or an environment with new cosmetics but the same structure. But then again, being lost in a country club community and being lost at sea seem like two vastly different narratives.
