Tales From The Trails: On Getting Lost

It was my first long run without my training partner.  We'd been doing our long runs at the park, and he usually led the way.  So, I was on my own to navigate the trails.  In my mind, I had it all planned out.  I'd follow a similar path as what we took last time.  I didn't look at a map.  I'm terrible at maps anyways!  I knew it in my head.  

Well, I came to an intersection 1 mile in that I'd never noticed before.  When I'm not leading, I tend to not pay as much attention to things like which way to go when faced with an intersection!  So, here I was, on my own, and I had to make a decision.  Well, I went right and soon realized that wasn't our normal path.  I decided to keep running.  I had a general idea where it would lead me, so I wasn't shooting completely in the dark.  I also knew that it'd eventually meet up with the trailhead I intended to hop on.  So, another mile in, I came to an intersection.  I saw a sign for the trailhead, but again I could go left or right on the trail.  I couldn't remember which way to go, so I turned left.  Well, that took me on a loop back around to that first intersection!!!  

Eek!  So, I was 3 miles into my 12-miler and I hadn't even made it onto the actual trailhead!  But, you know what I realized?  

It's when you get lost that you find your way.  

I now know exactly where each of those intersections lead.  Had I not explored it myself and let myself get lost, I never would have learned it.  I had been relying on my training partner all these weeks and never noticed where the path led.  

I also realized that miles are miles.  My goal was to cover 12 miles that day.  It didn't matter if the miles were all on the trailhead, or if 3 of them were me exploring my way onto the trail!  

The fact is life is life.  It's days, one leading into another, of experiences and lessons.  You'll have days that you get a little lost.  Can you enjoy those days with a sense of adventure trusting that it’s all helping you find your way?