About getting lost

Photo by Priyanka

I am a directionally challenged person. In fact it is a laughing matter in all of my circles. Almost all my friends wonder about how I manage to survive in my solo trips. I haven’t really given much thought on the how part. For me, getting lost and finding the way back has always been a kind of reassurance. It was my way of embracing uncertainty and tackling it.

In the book A field guide to getting lost, Rebeca Solnit writes

Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing.

We all have dealt with loss. It is something that happens whether we like it or not. But getting lost requires a certain amount of willingness to flirt with the uncertainty.

Whenever I am in a new place where I dont have any clue about the geography, I always take a long walk. I would have a vague idea about the place I stay. Other than that I am completely clueless. I take some random road, may be the one that promises a scenic route and start walking. Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts, sometimes I get lost in the surroundings. But I get lost anyway.

Finding the way back is the difficult part. It always takes extra miles of walking and countless detours to get back to the source. But I believe we can always find the way back if we trust ourselves in getting lost. I always have. And I always get clarity and reassurance about the person I am after every small stretch of getting lost.

Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That's where most important things come from, where you yourself come from, and where you will go.