Lost and Found

"Not till we are lost... do we begin to find ourselves and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations."               --Thoreau

This may seem a little strange, or difficult to comprehend if you're someone who has never experienced seasons in this way, but it seems that since I moved to Colorado something (possibly an internal gps of sorts) has been a bit off for me. As much as I don't mind the 'mild' Colorado winters, I'm definitely missing Michigan's easy to distinguish seasons. Mind you I am not always missing the blistering cold of Michigan winters at times, but Colorado lacks seasons that I can discern from one to the next. I feel like Colorado has two seasons... summer and winter. This bothers me because I grew up in a place where each season seemed to serve a very different purpose. The thawing and warming of the spring, the euphoric and careless summer, the crisp and colorful fall, and the silencing and hibernating of winter. I am going a bit crazy without those markers of time, and let me tell you that I for one took the uniqueness of Michigan's seasons for granted while living there. The dark, dreary, and sometimes cruel Michigan winters made spring and summer feel like a reward. One that you did not want to take for granted, because before you knew it fall was knocking on the door. I find it almost difficult to appreciate sunshine every day in Colorado. I'm beginning to believe that I could never ever live in Hawaii or Arizona. Luckily for me, Nate loves seasons too. A lack of change seems so unnatural and not comforting at all. Dare I say that I need the changing seasons to help keep me from getting lost in time. I'm beginning to wonder if Michigan's change in seasons helped keep me from getting too stagnant... I can't help but wonder if there's something almost therapeutic in the seasons changing. I have definitely learned the importance of not taking things for granted.

I know time isn't standing still, but one does begin to wonder when things feel like they never change. These thoughts could help explain why I love a change in scenery every once in a while... a little travel to new places never killed anyone. If anything, travel to somewhere new is always an eye opener for me.

Just like the Thoreau quote suggests... being lost isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just might help you come to realizations and discoveries. However, I'm not saying that if you're lost and you find yourself that you won't get lost again. Getting lost every once in a while is part of life, and I'm beginning to think it's not as bad as people might make it sound. Now... I mean this in the nicest way possible... Get lost!