The Art Of Being Lost


 
If there was one thing I learned going on family excursions growing up, it was how to be lost. Hiking in the woods, driving in an unfamiliar town, you name it, we could get properly lost in it. But this was not because we had a poor sense of direction or poor map reading skills, quite the opposite; we simply took a “big picture” approach to directions, which at times would roughly encompass half a national forest into simply, “over there”. And we always found our way, because really, we knew where we were headed. We just couldn’t tell you with reliable accuracy where we were at the moment.

As I’ve expanded my travels on my own, this foundation has served me very, very well, particularly in places where there was very little chance anyone spoke English. Some of my best experiences traveling have actually been in the process of trying to figure out where I was and what to do about it. The real key is all in not just preparing to be, but expecting to be lost.

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