Rerouting After Life's Detours

Getting lost

When humans began traveling the ends of the earth, we had no idea where we were going or what we would find. Now we travel every day, knowing exactly where we're headed and knowing down to the minute when we'll get there. We have come to rely on GPSs and Google Maps to etch out our journeys, lacing every obstacle and roadblock along our most optimal route. Finding ourselves so dependent on knowing the ins and out of something as regular as driving, has reduced our trust in moving about this world without a map. Without knowing what the day ahead has in store. Life has no roadmap. Knowing where you want to go doesn’t exactly provide how or if you will get there. Understanding even if you were to reach every goal you set, it may look nothing like you imagined. As we traverse this earth, we tend to get lost along the way. Something pops up and we get distracted. A storm rocks our boat off course and the compass goes overboard; we drift endlessly. That door we wanted to open, never did and we have to go with door number 2. Door number 2 isn’t as enticing of a door, it's not painted with the gold handle like door number 1. It’s funny that we always seek to wonder, but fear getting lost. When we can control the wanderlust, everything is okay. Sometimes your dreams run away and you just have to follow along. Whether you're in control or not; A dream is still a dream. Detours are like the split of a stream that ultimately lead you to the freedom of the ocean. 

Finding your way

Okay, so you have found yourself off course or at a block in the road, what next? Take notice of where you're at. Where are your feet? Where’s your mind and attitude? Where’s your heart? Once you’ve collected these and have them in order, the path will reveal itself once more. I’ve been in what seems like a blissful haze lately. Things have been going great around me. Oddly enough, it seemed as though much wasn’t happening within me. I see the wins of my peers and family and share in the joy of their successes. However, in private I’m sketching my own path, scrapping it, and doing it again. Though happiness surrounds me, there is the absence of the path which brought me here. The better, or worse, things got, the path began to smear before my eyes and seemed to widen further than my footpath. After a while of blindly wandering through this haze, I had to sit back and look. Movement is great in life, when you're going from one prize to the next fulfilling venture: but the faster you go, the blurrier your peripheral gets. At this moment, sit and look. The nuisances of your surroundings, those things which matter none to you will fade away. Like the fast and furious arcade racing games, arrows will show up guiding the way. Though you can’t physically see the guide, you move in confidence that you're headed the right way.  

Getting your groove

You will feel so liberated when you begin to remind yourself what you're fully capable of. Habits you thrived off of. Your visualizations become clearer than glacier water. Your dreams are better than before. Regaining your mojo is the catalyst to finding your groove. I love trying new food or cooking in a new way after grinding out of a slump. It's the little moments in your day when you notice that your back on the ball. Your worth is evident in everything you do because you see the meaning in the mundane once again. I don't get annoyed with washing dishes because it’s a moment of clarity and peace. All things have their meaning when you're back in the groove. Your path is clear and you can walk confidently as you reroute in your life. This being a simplistic view of this phenomenon, things may move faster or slower than you would hope. Since there is no roadmap, every inch and mile is unknown to us. We mustn't get frustrated when we realize we were on a detour. The detour could've been just the thing we needed to see how far off track we got. Or maybe we were off track, and the detour was the rerouting we needed. 

Everything has its purpose in our lives. I don’t believe in coincidences. If you think things are a mere happening, you relinquish the ability to find the purpose or opportunity in that moment. If you still feel lost, keep searching and looking for your path. If you found your way once again like I have, stay the course and allow yourself to sit in that flow that brings you life. You are capable of more than you think.

Opportunity Knocks Often

-J