Lost…….by definition:

1. Unable to find one’s way; not knowing one’s whereabouts
2. Unable to be found
3. Very confused or insecure in great difficulties
4. Denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered
5. (of time or an opportunity) not used advantageously ;wasted

Lose……by definition (past tense): lost

1. Be deprived of or cease to retain (something)
2. Cause (someone) to fail to gain or retain (something)
3. Be deprived of (a close relative or friend) through their death or as a result of the breaking off of a relationship
4. Waste or fail to take advantage of (time or an opportunity)
5. Become unable to find (something or someone)
6. Cease or become unable to follow (the right route)
7. Evade or shake off (a pursuer)

Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever not been able to find your way? Have you ever been in an unfamiliar place and found it difficult to reroute to a place of familiarity? Have you ever been in the same place and still couldn’t find your way? If you haven’t then you may just be lying to yourself. Some maybe more than others have experienced this feeling. It’s unavoidable. We just don’t know everything. We haven’t experienced everything. All things are new to use until we approach and experience it for ourselves. Most people are inclined to admit that they are lost. No one wants to admit that they are unaware. Spare yourself the embarrassment and become human with me right now….We all can identify with a few of the definitions that I listed above. I would like to humor myself and the listener who will be willing to become vulnerable with me briefly.

1. Unable to find one’s way; not knowing one’s whereabouts – Every time you get in that car and prepare to drive to a location that you have never been before; guess what….you just may have been lost. You had directions in your hand and or maybe TOM was guiding you all the way there, or even better your trusted bestie Google Maps was assuring you that the destination was only 5 feet away….I swear you didn’t have a freaking clue about where you were. You were lost. It’s okay….just by definition
2. Very confused or insecure in great difficulties – This may not be relative to all but it surely hits a home run for me and some others out there. Insecurity, no one likes saying this word. Let alone having to identify with it. To be absolutely unsure about with great difficulty. You aren’t confident about anything, you are not firmly or reliably fastened to a thing or yourself for that matter. When self isn’t reliable you can become confused instantly. There is no grounding. Has anyone ever felt this way remotely? It doesn’t have to be so extreme. But if you don’t know who you are then there is no internal channel to tune back into to find solace. Just a thought.
3. (Of time or an opportunity) not used advantageously; wasted – Who can’t relate to this definition? No one. All have wasted time, opportunity, resources, and so much more. We have all fill guilty and will again for not using what we have in the present wisely. It’s so easy to lose in this manner. It’s typically never intentional. We either are wandering in our way which is typically so innocent and by virtue become lost. Or we procrastinate because maybe we have become arrogant and feel that time and resources are due us because we exist and have an agenda and when we become ready to approach it; it (whatever “it” is should just be ready for us. We are a trip, we really are. Sometimes we cause others to lose when we operate in such a manner.
4. Be deprived of (a close relative or friend) through their death or as a result of the breaking off of a relationship – Whether or not we entertain family, we all were born into one so that means that we can’t be totally exempt from this definition. At some point in life we will lose a loved one to death (because it is inevitable). It’s one of the hardest aspects of loss that we will all be affected by. This is an aspect that we can’t manipulate by any means. Death is a loss that is irrevocable. We just have to learn how to manage the feelings that come along with not having someone who we love and cherish dearly. Even if it is someone that we man have not maintained a great relationship with; it still is hard to deal with. Let’s not forget also about lost in regards to the breaking off a relationship. That in of itself is a doozy. Haven’t we all had the pleasure of either breaking off a relationship or being the recipient of this action? Isn’t it the worst feeling ever!!!! It is such great lost when we lose a person to the end of a relationship. That disconnect can cause a person to feel lost. When we are disconnected from the familiar and left alone (which by no means is bad) may cause one to feel disoriented. Their life has been meshed with another for a significant amount of time and when left to self; the person seems to feel like they can’t find their way back to love, peace, fun, happiness, or the things that they once identified within their past relationship. These are feelings are when challenged can be brought back to a healthy space. Unfortunately, when these feelings are fresh and on the throne of our hearts and mind; they will have to go to war with the truth. That is the truth.
5. Become unable to find (something or someone) – Hey, have you ever lost your car or house keys? Well if so, you can identify with lost. I think we lose things every minute from the car keys, house keys, matching socks, passwords, the babies pacifier, documents that we saved in the wrong file, the cute guy of girls number you wrote on the receipt, business cards that we need to call that person that we really wanted to network with, homework, eyeglasses, you name it we do it.
6. Evade or shake off (a pursuer) – How many people are we trying to ensure that loses sight of us? Have you deleted your pursuers friend request on Facebook, or jumped on the elevator and pressed “close door” because he/or she was going to make it their business to ride 26 floors with you just to say hello. How about riding the bus or train and popping in those ear buds hoping that your pursuer will just stop trying to get your attention to hold that conversation you aren’t interested in entertaining. Sometimes it works and for the persistent who will not become the faint at heart; you will have to become for creative each time. What you want to really say is get lost….

It’s funny how when we first see a word we immediately either want to associate ourselves with it when it can seemingly make us look or feel important. On the other hand, we denounce anything that may carry a negative connotation or if may require that we become vulnerable. That’s the first feeling that I experienced when I considered that I felt lost. I was repulsed by the word when I thought about it as I sat alone in my room at my desk. I don’t know why, it was an honest feeling that should have caused no embarrassment. No one was even here with me to challenge the feeling; but I know what it is like to not be comfortable with one’s own truth. Whatever we are feeling is just that. Lost isn’t so bad when you can acknowledge it. I think a greater problem would reside in the fact of being lost and having no clue. If you are lost for any of the myriads of reasons that I have listed, it’s okay. You can be found. You just have, to be honest with yourself and then ask for help. There are some situations where you won’t be able to be reunited with what you have been separated from because it is a part of life. The beauty of life’s cycle is that you can find love, friendship, kinship, joy and so much more in others and other situations in life. Becoming lost isn’t a problem. Losing something or someone isn’t the problem either, the problem is rooted in the inability to acknowledge that you are lost or have lost someone, something, or more importantly yourself. If you don’t know, how can you ask for the help needed to recalculate your movement or what you need that you may have lost in the process? I am so not the expert on it all; I can admit though that I have allowed people to convince me that it was something wrong with admitting I had lost my way. The only way that your navigation system will set you on the right course is if you tell it that you have the wrong intended destination. If you need direction, stop and ask for help. If you feel misguided go to a source that you know has truth. If you lose something in your house or at work; stop wandering aimlessly when you obviously can’t find what you potentially lost; ask for help!!!! We are such silly people. Someone will come by and say, “Do you need help?”, “What are you looking for?” and our response is nothing…..I am guilty of that, and we are just impeding our own time or that of others when we can just say what we need. I am not saying that we can channel our own way through the resources that we have on our own, I am just simply stating that sometimes we don’t have a clue and that is okay. Our world is full of everything that we need but we seem to think that we should embody and possess all of this on our own and that just isn’t realistic. We won’t have it all, we won’t be able to always have the quick draw of response to keep from landing in a position of the unknown. You will feel a loss, you will get lost, you will lose things, you will lose track of time, you will be separated by the ones you love to death, and you may lose a friend or two. It’s okay. When you acknowledge it, just yell for help. I call on my God, you call on yours….that is in whatever you believe, ask for help. Seek the compass of life and all the answers that are tailor made just for your life. The answers are there. Answers await questions that are inevitable. Keep canvassing…..