How To Find Yourself Again (When You're Feeling A Little Lost)
We've all been there.
weheartit It seems that the holidays always bring out the best and worst in me (and I love that). I'm grateful that there is always a nice mile high humble pie for me to take a slice. Without it, I would imagine I'd be in a dark place somewhere that closely resembles my old story.
Speaking of old stories...I've always been a man who loves to wander from the beaten path and explore the unknown.
When I was a little boy, living in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the woods was my favorite place to be. There were many occasions when I would lose all concept of time and space and just focus on the next exciting thing that was in front of me.
I'm not sure when I lost the natural ease to do this but I'm fairly certain it had something to do with some B.S. story I was taught about growing up.
It wasn't usually until darkness began descending on me before I realized it was time to think about heading home. Something that never occurred to me back then was a story taught to me later in life...
I was completely lost.
Oddly enough, I don't recall ever feeling panic. As I reflect back, I see all the potential dangers that could have befallen me but, in the moment, they never occurred to me. The creatures of the night were the same creatures I hung out with during the day. My only references back then were the stories my mom allowed me to watch.
I imagined I was Tarzan or Huck Finn or George of the Jungle. The only stories I had been exposed to said that everything in nature was my friend and I was just on another great adventure. Sometimes, I found my way back rather quickly and other times, it lasted long into the night.
I'm sure it wasn't as fun for my mom since she had a much larger internal library than I did.
I suppose one could assume it was random luck that I didn't get eaten by any one of the wild animals I shared space with. One could also assume it was destiny depending on the story they choose to believe.
I can tell you that as I got older and exposed to more scary stories, my nights in the woods alone, disappeared. I do remember staggering home from drunken parties in the woods but my fears from the scary stories were replaced by the comfortable numbness of drugs and alcohol in those times.
I can't help but wonder about all the times over the next several decades that I felt the need to numb my fears of being lost with a drink or a drug. It begs the question: "Was I ever really lost or just over polluted with scary stories?"
Today, I have so many stories in my library that I don't even have to leave my house to feel lost. In fact, I'm feeling a little lost right now as I'm writing this. I'm listening to one of my scary stories that say I suck as a writer and have no business doing this.
Yikes! Zowie! Heavens to Murgatroyd!
The only two things I know for sure is that:
- I always seem to find my way home.
- I always have some new amazing stories to tell from my experiences.
Maybe we could all use a few less scary stories in our lives and along the way, learn how to find yourself again.
Perhaps then we'd realize that we're never really lost but just on this amazing adventure.
Greg Boudle is a recovery life coach, published author, and professional speaker.