Lost and Found
Sometimes getting lost can be the best way to find what is important. We all collect things… some physical, some mental, some real, some imagined. We weigh ourselves down with possessions, thoughts, and troubles. We don’t typically do this for a tangible purpose like the guy who gathers bottles from garbage cans so he can collect the deposits and eat tonight. Instead, we are compelled to be collectors by our nature. Perhaps it is to satisfy an innate need to gather in a world where we are unfamiliar with famine and true need. We do it and we don’t know why. But all of that can create an inexplicable stress..the result of cluttered spaces and cluttered minds…until it shapes our existence and takes control of our lives, denying us the pleasure of the the reality of the world around us.
If we don’t know how to take control, we can neither identify nor escape these burdens. This is when intentionally getting lost can help us find the way. It takes concentration and effort to get lost in this way. The problem is that when we try to get lost, our minds are thinking about the maze we are making and a map is drawn in our heads. Try it; try to take a wrong turn with the intent of getting lost…you may never get lost because your mind will always try to draw the escape route for you. Instead, try to focus on something so intently that other thoughts begin to fall away. If you do it right, you will start to reel and subsequently relax as a sort of self hypnosis takes hold. Now you are lost…and relaxed…and you can appreciate the beauty of this focus. All things become clear when we shed our clutter.
As we look toward the Grand Canyon, it rolls toward us with the rotation of the earth yet its immensity seems to stop time. Does this make sense? All the world around it is consumed by its dramatic void and we only see the canyon. Don’t get me wrong; we want to see the canyon because it is grand and beautiful and mysterious…it is beyond our comprehension. But if we focus, really focus, we can begin to get lost in its wrinkles, creases and scars. We can abandon all that is overwhelming and focus on the beauty of its elements. We may feel a warmth that comes from harmony with our environment…something that is wholly aesthetic. We can abandon questions and concerns and in that moment simply appreciate “just being.” At this moment we are decluttered and our minds may be prepared better to identify and tackle what is important.
The Aerial Horizon 
Good thoughts, thanks for sharing
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Thanks, Daniel.
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