Get Lost

There lives inside all of us a desire to escape from our day to day.  It’s the urge to break away from the mundane and live to our heart’s content.  Sometimes this feeling manifests itself as a brief daydream of a long weekend in Cancun.  Other times this can incite a complete and rampant detachment from civilization on par with Christopher McCandless’s journey Into the wild.   Thankfully a happy medium is to be found.  We don’t need to swear off all worldly possessions and run heedlessly into the arctic. But, we ought to get to do something a little more drastic than spending a weekend in an airbnb if we really want to satiate our apatite for adventure.

Why do we have these thoughts and why are they so prevalent?   Everybody and their uncle has a dream of one day converting a sprinter van into a an RV and roaming around the continental US.   Maybe we’re all burnt out on the hectic, materialistic, and over-consuming society that is The West.  Or perhaps everyone is suffering from a case of “the grass is always greener.”

I can say confidently, that the grass is greener.. in some cases literally.  The average American lifestyle can take a toll on one’s soul.  We are overfed with products and entertainment, but we are starved for adventure.  I happen enjoy pulling dinner out of the microwave, sinking into the couch, and rewatching Breaking Bad for the 4th time.  But a feeling of true vitality, and genuine awe is found in, say… overlooking over a lush tea field on a Sri Lankan mountain top while sipping on a coconut you just bought for 30 cents.  I believe the urge to get lost is healthy reaction to the mind-numbing facade that is the average American life.   Life is not meant to be lived hunched over a screen underneath florescent lights.  We ought not stress about bills and insurance rates and the newest AirPods.  We don’t need most of what we think we need.  Life holds a limitless potential of awe and genuine contentment.  Extraordinary experience is accessible to all of us.