…and the party never ends”. At least, that’s how the song goes. There are many roads and paths that we can follow. Some go through the wilderness, and some just go through our minds. Sometimes we head off, not following a marked path but following our own trackless way.
A compass (with a map) can allow us to make our own way through the woods. This can happen when we want to explore, to find a new hunting spot, or make our way to a hidden fishing pond. We can often learn something (about the terrain, about the goal of our efforts, or about ourselves) when we go “off trail”. Of course, we also have the possibility of becoming lost. At that point we can really begin to learn more about ourselves.
Becoming lost is not always a worst-case scenario. “Been powerful confused for a month or two but I ain’t never been lost” said Henry Frapp (actor Brian Keith) in the 1980 movie “The Mountain Men”. Often, “being lost” is simply a matter of perception. We can consider “being lost” as a tragedy, or an adventure. Much of that perception depends on our skill and ability to self-rescue and find out way back to a known point. It works in the woods as well as in our own minds.
If we never explore beyond the known (within some safe limits), we may never acquire the confidence and skill to self-rescue when we actually need to do that. How many times do we refuse to trust ourselves when presented with an opportunity to go “off trail”? The more we can allow ourselves to wander when it is safe, the more we can trust our skills and abilities, no matter the context. Testing ourselves is an opportunity for growth.