"It is not down in any map; true places never are."-Herman Melville
For several weeks I've been lost...lost in a mountain of kleenex, a pile of medicinal measuring cups, convoluted pathways of blankets and pillows and pajamas. Temporarily comatose and binge-watching episodes of our favorite shows, I began to accept my condition. But sitting in the mess of it for days made me realize that I had to find my way out.
Illness lingers and it runs it's course and you emerge from it a little dazed, but ready to be in the sun, to breathe in the fresh air, to traverse the avenues before you. And sometimes...you emerge realizing that it's time to walk a new road. You are ready for adventure, ready for new views, and new experiences. My "lost" found me searching for my true north. I attempted to plan it out under the cover of those strewn blankets. So I searched road maps for all the routes available, then set the coordinates and dropped pins; I was here, and now I want to go there, and there, and over there. I've never taken these roads before---and I don't really know the shortcuts (although the many infomercials I watched while I was lost tried to convince me they exist). I began to strategize and make plans, and when I walked out into the open, I found that...just like the illness...this new journey had to run it's course, and take strange turns, and I'd be met with obstacles. I was still "here", and "there" was going to take awhile to get to. Was there even a map I could follow? Probably not. Knowing true north was how I would navigate.
And what do you do while you're navigating? Stick to your true north. Whatever steps you take, no matter how small, should reflect your direction. Should you stray, and get off-course, remember that all you need to do is refocus, and work your way 'round to face north again. Then walk, choose, speak, ask, pray, try, value, envision... & align yourself with others who are navigating their way to their own true north. You'll get there. So will I.
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