Getting Lost

Over the weekend, I spent some time in the woods with my family.  The weather was phenomenal.  Crispy cool breezes and warm sunshine made for blissful walks and wonderful ease.  Amazing how nature can heal us and increase our well being.

Caddo Culture Day offered me the opportunity to walk the trails around the sacred Indian Mounds, places of worship and burial.  Watching the Caddo’s of Oklahoma doing their traditional dances and hearing the heartbeat-beat-beating of their drums transported me to a place out of time.  Their traditional clothing so bright in dominant colors.  All this reminding me of the 2 weeks I spent in Ruidosa, NM last summer.  There the Apache girl coming of age ceremonies were underway.

The Caddo, a peaceful people, are much more light-hearted and playful in their dance in comparison with the warrior Apache’s.  For certain.  I felt so honored to have a look inside their way of life.

Later in the day, we went to the Mission Tejas State Park.  Some family & friends went hiking while I took my Momma to the original 1691 El Camino Real trail.  We went deep into the forest and got off the trail somewhere.  And this is when I found out that my Momma is much more adventurous and brave than I am.

There she was in flip-flops but still, she insisted we climb a stone hill.  I checked out our mostly empty water bottles and noticed the empty rice cake bag in her back pocket.  No food or water.   So far from civilization there was no phone service.  Ok sure, I’ll climb up a hill.  Then what?

Well, there was a wild mess of weeds, trees and scratchy bitey things galore.  Armadillos rooted and dashed as little unseen things skittered and slithered.  Momma grabbed a big stick and drug it behind her, making a sure way for me.  I was amazed at her.  By then I would have wigged out and ran in the opposite direction but she was calm and enjoying this adventure.

Along the way, we discovered wild ferns, an Ironwood tree, palms, berries and what looked like the stash of moonshiners from a century ago.  We wandered as the light began to hang low and I worried but it was fun to see my Momma so like a child in discovery mode.  She kept pointing and saying “We came from that way, we’ll just go back that way.”

I finally saw what looked like a little trail and I hightailed down to it.  This time Momma was behind me.  I shouted “This is IT!”  And this is when she began to worry.  “Are you sure?  How do you know?”  By then, I could see specific signs along the path I had made mental notes of.

Boy, was I relieved to find my way back onto the sure path but I couldn’t help thinking how much more fun getting lost was and adventuring with that sense of danger.

Sometimes getting lost is just what we need to find our way.  Insecurity shakes things up and challenges our beliefs.  Having my Momma with me, who in some ways got us more lost *laughs* was even more special because it serves to remind me that while life is not guaranteed to be safe and secure, we can always make the most of it, laugh at ourselves, enjoy each other and move into the unknown with the heart and curiosity of an innocent child.