Finding Ourselves

Happy 4th of July, all!

I found myself in two situations this evening that brought me to quick thinking and quick actions. And I think, in those unexpected situations, we can either rise to the occasion, or let it pass us by.

As we were walking to the fireworks, my husband and I heard a weird sound, more like a car with the radio up, but then he noticed it was coming from the grass. So, like the curious person he is, my husband went searching, and found a cell phone. It had stopped ringing by the time we got it, so I suggested we call the first number on the list. Then, it began ringing. I answered, "Hi, this is a lost cell phone." And on the other end were some people looking for it. "I'll drop it off at the Eckerd on Rte 7 and West St." I suppose the alarmist part of me doesn't want to keep a stranger's cell phone on me. The samaritan part of me wants to help in whatever way possible.

Later that evening, during the fireworks, a little boy walks behind our picnic, screaming his head off. He looked about the age of four or five, lost beyond belief. His eyes shut tight, walking all directions, screaming louder than the fireworks and any helpful voices, bystanders tried to get his attention and help him find his family. Well, after two or three attempts from others made him continue walking and crying even more frantically, I jumped up and grabbed a STAFF in orange. Strangers are probably the worst thing for him, but someone with an orange vest on is trustworthy and helpful.

But the situations got me thinking... about being lost in the past, about my own life, and the idea of being "lost" for a career.
I think many of us have been "lost" in our lives in different ways.
The question many boy and girl scouts ask is, what would we do if we were left in the woods for four days? I think we find out what we're really made of.

The first day, you prep and figure out a spot to camp, gather the necessary items for building fires, escaping in case of bears, and the like. The first day, you're too busy to think about too much.

The second day you enjoy the successes of what you prepared... and sometimes you end up discovering, to your detriment, what you left behind that you really needed.

The third day, you reap the consequences of what you may not have brought, and you have to busy yourself figuring out work-arounds.

The fourth day is when your mind begins processing the past three, and you either panic or sit back and enjoy.

Something that I have very often been muddling over in my mind since I began this Freelance Writing, Editing, Web Design business is, "where am I going?" "where do I want to go?" And most of the time, I can't concentrate on whether I'm lost or not... concentrating on that doesn't get me anywhere. But I can think of where I want to go. Or, based on my heading, where is this particular path going to take me?

Thankfully, I've found quite a lot of finding and a very small amount of lost. I'm glad to say that my business is successful and, what's a bit more critical, secure for the next whole year.