When I was 9 my paternal grandparents lived a few blocks from my elementary school. Often, I was invited to walk to their house for lunch. Time after time, I got lost looking for the right street. If I didn’t arrive by a particular time, one of my grandparents would come find me. None of us could grasp how I became confused and couldn’t find my way after repeatedly being told of how to do it.
I never felt scared when I found myself in the same predicament. No one shamed me for not knowing the way. This same pattern has continued throughout my life. Somehow my left and right were mixed up in my body. Instinctively, I turned the opposite of instructions for a particular direction. This happened in ballet class, in gym class, and later when learning to drive.
Recently I discovered that my brain tends to be ‘misguided’. It’s something that has worked differently in my head about spatial interpretations. When I interviewed an expert educator about learning ‘differences’ such as dyslexia on my radio show, she explained that learning differences are not about intelligence. That is a relief now, but it caused me to reflect about my experiences in the sense of feeling lost.
The sense of ‘lost’ took on new meanings as I grew up. There are many family stories of how I had difficulty finding my way. We laughed together because of unexpected favorable outcomes that regularly occurred in my translated description of wandering. I learned to build in ‘lost time’ when I needed to arrive at a new destination as a back-up system that ensured timeliness.
Wandering on new, unexpected pathways has been a gift. The concept shifted my perception of tick-tock time in many instances. Synchronicities have been abundant and often humorous accepting there in often no best way to go somewhere. New beliefs arose like “I will arrive at the perfect time.” I found myself relaxing in the moments instead of fighting against time.
Strategies that were helpful became apparent at the most appropriate ‘timing’. Visual landmarks were like breadcrumbs along some pathways. I tuned in to where the sun was in the sky! I discovered other repetitive patterns that I wanted to change. Most of all, I found my inner guidance system and began to trust my intuition which gave me a set of alternative navigation tools.
Consider how you perceive being lost, misguided, or wandering as a scout or seeker in life. You may discover as I did that there can be joy as a result.