Have you ever been lost in the woods?
Close your eyes and think of a time when you were lost, scared, frustrated.
- Where were you?
- How did it feel? Did you cry, yell, scream, panic?
- How did you get found?
- Were you saved by somebody, or did you save yourself?
I got lost in the woods overnight once.
I was out at a natural hot springs in the forest in Oregon, with three good friends. We went to the "secret" springs, on the other sio hike in but you can stay all night. The springs sit right on the edge of the very fast, loud river.
Around 4 am, I wandered off into the darkness to have a pee, and got myself turned around. I went in circles a few times, then tried shouting for help, but it was useless; the river completely drowned out the sound of my voice.
I worked myself into a crying frenzy, then finally settled down and ended up curling myself into a right ball inside an old cedar snag, hunkered down in a half-sleep childlike trauma state until dawn, when I could see my way back to the trail...only to discover I was only about fifty meters from where my friends were still chatting merrily by the fire, having barely noticed my absence.
I told them of my ordeal but they didn't really understand what I had just been through, all by myself in the wilderness all night.
And I've often compared that feeling with my experiences of depression, this beast I struggled with so many times in my life. I notice that the sorrow, too, feels like a wilderness--uncontrolled and terrifying yet somehow I always find my way out, and often, afterwards, realize I hadn't wandered so far off as it seemed.
But that's enough about me.
Tell us a story about you. Tell us, by way of introduction, about a time when you were lost, whether in the actual forest or in a metaphorical wilderness, and tell us how you found your way back.
This is your challenge.
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