The art of getting lost

According to journalist Chris Muyres, getting well and truly lost means living life with intensity. He makes a convincing argument for losing our way now and then, both literally and figuratively.

I have a passionate desire for getting lost from time to time. My younger years are probably to blame. I grew up in a small border town that faced the Meuse river, with a vast woodland area behind it. My friends and I were always inventing adventures to go on: one day we’d only walk in a straight line, no matter what kinds of things we would run into, be it barbed wire, bushes, cornfields, streams or forests.

After a while we’d get lost, and start looking for a trail or a road so we could find our way home. We also crossed the river in a rubber boat, only to end up on the other side in unfamiliar surroundings. As children, we had all the freedom we needed to indulge these whims. My parents never told me to stay on the trails. Despite this, I never once told my own children, “Go ahead and try it; it’s fun!” I didn’t hold them back, but I certainly didn’t egg them on. I have to wonder why. Are we too protective in how we raise our children these days?