THE SOMERSET MIST
I often get lost wandering through the many hedged lanes of Devon and Somerset. These tiny lanes are only wide enough for a small car to travel one way. The walking is not easy because the lanes go up and down hills, often very steep hills, and you can find yourself huffing and puffing. My longest walks occur when I get thoroughly lost. The sign posting is not very helpful sometimes because it directs you around in circles until you finally realize your destination is somewhere in the middle of a circle. By that time you are so tuckered out that you collapse by the side of the lane, put your feet up and fall asleep. Then, you dream while you listen to nature humming around you.
A crow caws away in the distance. She has seen you and her challenge is to watch you while you are in her area. If you were to get up and walk one direction she would caw one sound, but if you went the other she would caw another sound. She knows how to tell everyone that matters to her, who you are and where you are going. There are eyes watching you that you could never imagine. Unseen eyes monitor you from many places. And, so it is with the world. You may think that you are alone, but you are never alone. There is always someone or something following you and watching you.
If you have been watching the ABC TV series Lost, you will appreciate part of what I mean.
There are many ways to be lost. One of the aspects about being lost, however, is that you have an opportunity of self discovery. At some point, usually from fear, your senses are heightened and you have to think if you are to find out where you are. Generally, you have enough where-with-all to discover how to find your self. You look for the smallest of clues to determine a direction from which you have travelled. If all else fails, you retreat as far back along the route that you think you have made and try to guess which turnings you took.
Another way you can get lost is when you have prepared something, as on the computer, and the electricity goes out suddenly. Everything that you have been working on is lost. You may have spent hours on the work that you were doing. The great thing about having been lost, and we all lose ourselves at some time, is that having has the pain of being lost we learn to avoid being lost the next time. Or, at least, we learn to avoid the worst consequences of being lost. It is important to ask for directions if you are lost. It is important to set marks on your route if you are travelling in unfamiliar territory. Even mental marks helps as in remembering yourself for a half second and recording your surroundings and yourself within those surroundings.