When the Path isn’t Clear

What if you lost your kids in a wilderness area measuring about half the size of Belgium? Imagine you set them off ahead of you with some camping gear but knowing you are carrying most of what they need to survive including all the food. They are nowhere in sight and the rough trail you are trekking through has abruptly come to an end.

This is what happened this past week on a canoe camping trip with my family and some friends. One moment we were following a path and the next, there was no clear way to go and the kids were gone.

Immediately there was fear amongst the adults. We dropped our packs and canoes and started calling out to them. 

My heart rate accelerated and a barrage of thoughts began: How would we ever find them out here when everywhere I looked was dense forest? How had I not anticipated the danger of them losing their way? Did they even have their water bottles?

This worry was short-lived because soon the kids called back out to us without a worry in the world. They had already made it to the next lake undeterred. They’d forged ahead even though the path wasn’t clear.

Think of the times when you have done the same; when you have lost the job, a relationship, an opportunity or a loved one and you have plowed through the overgrowth, jumped over the fallen trees and beyond the difficulty because reaching your lake was a stronger drive than the fear of loss along the way. This can be a natural attribute of youth. This can also rest upon the belief of something bigger. 

Think of times when you were like the parents in this story; when your thoughts and emotions ran wild while you dropped everything and stopped moving forward. How can you begin again after that kind of hijack? How can you take the necessary steps and choose to skillfully respond to the barrier on your path?

Sometimes you will recognize the difficulty as part of the adventure. You might call out to your fear and be answered by the voices of those who have gone ahead.

What about when there is seemingly no one to lead? Think about those times when your path became unclear because it was only yours to follow for a little while. Or when your path ended in rejection or a deep loss. How do you carry on?

Consider the practicality of presence.

Your mind can’t drag you from one scenario to the next when you are rooted in presence. When your mind is steady, the resulting effects on the body become steadier too. This can be a great benefit to manage where you’ve come from and to assist in knowing where to go next. Practising present-moment awareness, over time, will also help you notice how all things rise and fall away. Change is ever-present in our thoughts, emotions and circumstances. Watch this in yourself. Watch this in nature. Watch this in those around you.

Perhaps there are no dead ends. Maybe, when it feels like you don’t know which way to go, it is your internal compass asking you to pay closer attention to exactly where you are.

Note: If you enjoyed this post, have a look at another called, ‘The Weight You Carry,‘ written after a previous back country camping trip 🙂