Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrified of getting lost. I have no idea why, but it probably has something to do with my need to feel in control of a situation.
Lately, I’ve been reading the book An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. This book is a treasure. Taylor writes beautifully, for one; for another, the practices she talks about are so familiar to our everyday experience that we miss an opportunity for worship and wonder when we encounter them.
Well, this author sees getting lost as a sort of spiritual practice! Imagine… As I sipped my coffee and stared off, trying to see the connection, either the caffeine or the Spirit (or both) kicked in and I began to get it. Although I don’t recall ever being lost as a child, as an adult, I’ve been lost more times than I can count. Most of these occurring in the physical sense. But more than a few times I have also felt lost in a strange land of sin, heartache, unwanted surprises, new beginnings, or deaths of people I’ve loved.
Common sense tells us that one of the worst things a person can do when lost is to panic. I know this. And yet, at the first hint of the unfamiliar I start to tense up and flounder around trying to regain my normal…my familiar…the known…the expected.
I am in a new season. Life is so unfamiliar that I have found it hard to relax and enjoy a slower pace. So accustomed to being productive, I have found it disconcerting to have time on my hands. Surely I need to be doing something to build my new business or doing some organizing and extra cleaning.
As I am writing this, our whole world is a little bit lost, dealing with the pandemic of the coronavirus. Our routines are disrupted and our security is a bit shaken.
We are in great company when we consider people like Moses, Abraham, and Joseph. Esther! Then there are the disciples and Paul. They must have felt lost and confused a great deal of the time, both geographically and spiritually.
If you are feeling a little unhinged by your current situation, here are some things you might try:
1. Stop checking the news and social media, and take a deep breath. Look around you. Take a walk. Get your bearings. Try some deep breathing.
2. Next, get grounded by making a list of at least ten things that are still good in your life.
3. Try changing your perspective from one of pessimism to one of optimism: look for some new opportunities.
4. Do something creative. Yes, you!
5. Try practicing a prayer exercise in which you do more listening than you do talking (in your mind or out loud).
One of the things I tried this week was just noticing one particular space in my home. As I sat in bed with my second cup of coffee, I really took in my bookcase in the corner of my room. I envisioned the gift of trees that had been sacrificed for my most special books. All the weight of wisdom of the men and women through the ages that had written them. I looked at my family’s photos on the top shelf, life and love, potential, heartache and joy all enclosed in picture frames! Talk about heavy! And even the bills stacked there, ready for payment. I normally would see these as an annoyance or a liability. But this day, I saw what they represented: heat, light, connection, home, and even freedom.
In that one small space, there was so much to be grateful for. I often need to recalibrate by engaging some simple practices such as this one. Maybe you do too.
Although this is not a time for rose-colored glasses, it may be a time for a different viewpoint. \
If you find yourself needing to talk through some of these ideas or perhaps wanting to explore more spiritual practices, I’d love to talk with you.