And so it is with life

So, I've been pondering quite a bit lately.  You can be sure when there's a lack of posting, I'm usually a) so busy that I can't see straight, or b) really struggling with something.  This time, it has been both.

A couple of days ago, I was reminded of my last visit to Colorado and my time with friends there.  It was a great trip and I really treasured my time.  On the last day I was there, we went for a hike in Waldo canyon, near where I used to live, and a familiar route - one I had taken hundreds of times over the past 10 years.  The five of us set out to get a good workout in, along with some long missed girlfriend time.  The route was just over 7 miles, as we'd planned it - a loop in the forest overlooking a beautiful canyon and a stunning example of the terrain in Colorado.  Nothing any of us were concerned about - this was a pretty usual distance for all of us.

We set out having great conversation and catching up with one another because of our separation caused by my move.  We were all happily climbing and jogging and traversing the landscape, all the while engrossed in our discussion.  It wasn't until we realized that we should have been much closer to the beginning point of our trail, but we weren't, and things weren't adding up as far as distance remaining.  The familiar suddenly became confusing.  Once confident, I became nervous and we were running out of water that warm day in September.  We began to assess what we knew to be true about our location - the road is in that direction (we could hear the cars passing), the canyon faces this direction, our starting point must be in that direction.  But our trail did not go that way from were we were standing.  We got lost, and it happened so gradually that we never even knew it until we were three miles out of our way.

Isn't that so how it is in life?  We're rolling along, feel like we have things together, so familiar with our routines that we go on autopilot and sail through our days with a few storms here and there.  But, sometimes, we look up one day and realize that we are way off course.  I did that yesterday.  It hit me that I've been sailing in the wrong direction, but it seemed like familiar enough waters that I didn't realize it until I saw just how off course I really was.

The good news is that once we know we're off course, we immediately can begin to correct our direction.  We take an assessment of where we are, where we've been, and where it was that we were planning on going.

That day in Colorado, my friends and I did make it back to our starting point, albeit 4 miles out of our intended way.  We ended up hiking a total of 11+ miles, when we only set out to do 7.  We had to get off the marked trail to go in the direction we knew we needed to go, and that path was rocky and steep and full of snakes and other natural challenges.  But once we got to our cars and to a local restaurant to refuel our weary selves, we were so thankful to be home again.

While I'm a bit off the intended course right now, I know which direction to head.  My return journey may be a bit rockier than it would have been had I never veered in the wrong direction, but how much sweeter the destination when I finally get there and am able to savor it.