Lost and Found

At some point today, I decided that today's title would be "Lost and Found."  Then I tried to write about it and nothing seemed to flow out of my fingers and on to the screen.  Some days are like that.    I tried to find a catchy song that had the phrase in it and some words of deeper wisdom but I couldn't find anything.  I tried to link it to the book I'm currently reading, The Trace of Scarcity by Victoria Castle.  No luck there either.

The line in "Amazing Grace", "I once was lost but now am found." wasn't conjuring up anything that I could latch on to much less write about.  Maybe I was lost and not found.  I started to feel panic creep up my legs and threaten my solar plexus. . . where ever that may be.  I was lost.  I started to panic.  Age, however does have some advantages.  By now, I've panicked enough times to know the fruits of panic.  I also know it takes too much energy and that picking up the pieces after panicking can be messy and time consuming.  I just didn't want to go there.

Instead, I sat down with "lost" feeling. 
I said,  "Hello, I may not be thrilled to feel you but I know you've got something to say that I probably need to hear.  Please tell me why you're here."
The "lost feeling"  relaxed and smiled.  "I'm more normal than you think.  Lot's of people feel lost from time to time.  Feeling lost doesn't necessarily mean you are."
"Interesting.  Tell me more."
Lost took a deep breath, preparing to explain what must seem obvious.
"You can feel lost and yet be found at the same time.  You can be lost in one or a few areas in life but not really be lost at all.  I know it doesn't make sense but it is true."
"Hmm," I said.  I think I know exactly what you mean but I'm not sure I can explain it either."

What we believe about ourselves does not fully represent who we are.  Feeling lost may just be a way to tap into a common human experience.  It also may be an indication that one's gotten off track, that they have lost sight of their purpose, their raison d'etre.  That's what happened to me today.  For a little while, I felt lost not because I was but  because I had "forgotten" my purpose, my higher calling, my reason for being.  I'd stepped out of the natural flow of my life.  I was sidetracked as I often am.  I wanted to panic and probably would if I could have conjured up the extra energy.

Feeling lost was a wake up call.  It called me back to myself.  It reminded me that even though I felt lost, I really only needed to remember what is most important in my life, to feel found again.  "I once was lost but now am found."  Today's Just 10 with the feeling of being lost brought me back to myself.  Next time, the feeling comes to visit me, I will welcome it and listen to what it has to say.