Lost On the River

But sometimes, lost
on his way to somewhere significant,
a man in a long coat, carrying
a briefcase, wanders into the forest.

He hears the voice,  . . .
he sees the thrush and the dandelion,
and feels the mist rise over the river.

And his life is never the same,
for this having been lost –
for having strayed
from the path of his routine,
for no good reason.

Michael Blumenthal, “A Man Lost By a River"

Dante spoke of awakening in a dark wood where the true way was wholly lost. This is the paradox of becoming lost but awakening, of being lost but of being found.  Jesus said he came to find the lost.

I think I was better at being lost when I was a kid than I am now as an adult. I would wander the hills fishing little ponds looking for bass. Some times I would get a bit lost looking for a way to fish someone’s private pond or I remember sneaking into reservoirs at night crawling under troublesome fences. Sometimes, in the darkness, I got lost trying to get back out.

In those moments of feeling lost, I don’t remember feeling fear or as though I was wasting time. It was all part of the adventure. I did not have to hurry up and get to a meeting as I do now. Maybe as a kid it was easier to find that different pace Thoreau spoke of and hear the beat of a different drummer.

As an adult, I now have to carry a brief case and wear a long coat. I don’t know if I could crawl under that fence with out that briefcase or the coat getting snagged on the wire. I don’t  know if I could stray from the path of my routine for no good reason. Now I have to stay on task, be responsible and "successful". 

I get the feeling that I am not alone in this and that perhaps many adults don’t know how to get lost anymore. It is as though there is not any  time to stray. One cannot afford to get off the main road.

So I ask myself. Can I put my brief case down?  Do I know how to get lost anymore?   Can I still wander the hills ?  Can I still wander into the forest and feel the mist rise over the river?

And if I could still stray from the routine, would my life never be the same for this having been lost?

Could I become lost so as to be  found?