Lost

Lost

by David Wagner

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen.

view the whole poem here

How often do we feel metaphorically, if not literally, lost in our lives? When we lack clarity and vision, we often begin to run faster, change direction, backtrack, try anything that we think might show us which way to go.

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost. – This poem tells us simply: stand still; you are not lost. For a moment, stop reflexively turning, running, hurrying and just stand still. This being still is not a passive, frozen state. It is saying, let the world come to you, show itself to you. Let yourself be receptive.

Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known – Because this forest that is your life is complex and not always known to you, you must respectfully ask to become familiar with it and also allow yourself to be known, to develop a vital relationship with yourself.

The forest breathes. Listen. – Sometimes my life seems to lose focus and I feel myself begin to look outward for answers, grasping and rejecting all manner of direction. And sometimes those two words will come to me, Stand still, and I do. I listen and pay attention without trying to figure out which way will lead me out of the forest of my confusion. I try to just be with wherever is Here until the wisdom of that place is revealed to me.

Next time you are feeling lost and a frantic hurry-up-and-fix-it energy is rising up in you, trying being still, letting the wisdom within speak to you. What might you hear?