Lost in the Woods

Lost in the Woods

By Becki Balok

Walking in the woods on a well-marked path is easy. Follow the sign posts, turn right, turn left -- it's pretty hard to get lost. But, it's easy to get lost on paths that aren't so well-marked. At each fork in the road, a decision has to be made. Should I turn right? Or, maybe left? Straight?

Our lives are like a walk in the woods. Each of us is walking along a spiritual path -- it's not well-marked. There are decisions to be made.

Hills to climb up. Valleys to climb down. Dirt. Wonderful trees and flowers. Weeds that tangle us. Rocks we stumble on, some we marvel at. Twists where we don’t want them. Right turns when we wanted to go left. Left turns when we wanted to go straight.

Sometimes our path intersects with another. Sometimes we get lost on another’s path and try to live their life. Sometimes another gets lost on our path. Often, we come to a fork in the road and we separate.

The well-marked trail steers you away from steep hills and deep valleys. You miss the adventure of the climb, the challenge of the descent, the glory at the top, the serenity at the bottom.

There's no room for growth on the well-marked trail. On it we learn to play it safe. We stick like glue to the path we grew up on, never venturing off the well-marked trail. We let someone else direct our every move. We turn-over our decision power to another, wonder why we are so bored, and eventually die without ever having lived.

In the woods of life, flex your spiritual muscles, let your inner guide be your compass and follow your own intuition. Using new ideas and thoughts, create your own map.

The real problem is not getting lost in the woods. The real problem is staying on the well-marked trail. Express your true spirit of adventure -- it's what life is all about.