Dear Happy Asses,
I have always found great things when I thought I was lost. I’ve kind of looked at it as an adventure. When my sweet husband would get frustrated because we were lost again, I was usually excited about what I might find on this said lost adventure.
I think I was comfortable being lost because I had lots of experience with it, and even more experience with being found.
I actually think the ones who are most lost are often the ones who don’t know they’re lost at all. I remember a minister once saying that he wished his congregation could get lost… so they could be found. That stuck with me.
But I have an even better take on being lost, one that works really well for me.
How about this instead:
“I’m not lost. I’m just seeking.”
Because the moment I believe I have everything figured out, there’s no need to seek, no need to grow, no need to become anything more. And y’all know me, I want all of that. I love each year that I learn, I grow, I mess up a little, and then I put it back together again.
I’ve also noticed something else along the way. The more I remind myself that we’re all just seeking — all trying to find our way home, the more grace and love I’m able to offer other humans. And the more compassionate I am with myself in this forward-and-backward journey, the clearer my way seems to become.
I heard another thought recently that I loved. Someone was lamenting that they were “starting over again.” But what if we aren’t starting over at all? What if we’re just returning to what works?
This is why I love this time of year, and not for the reasons you might think. It’s not just the tinsel, or the music, or the plump man with the beard… although, okay, maybe a little of all that.
More than anything, it’s a season for reflection. A space in my heart and my head to ask simple, honest questions:
What worked this year? Do more of that.
What didn’t? Do less of that.
And are my heart and my purpose rowing in the same direction?
I’m really okay with being a little lost. I’ve met the kindest humans there. And when I need direction, I know exactly where to look — upward. That navigation system has never failed me. It doesn’t break, it doesn’t lose signal, and it never needs rebooting.
I am so thankful for every wrong turn, every detour, and every “lost” moment that somehow led me right here, to a life filled with all of you.
Loving you in my very Merry, very Happy Ass way,
Karen Key Smith
