Did you ever have one of those days? We are all sojourners, travelers on the road, trying like mad to just get home. The road is filled with bumps, potholes, detours, road construction, traffic jams, unexpected delays, breakdowns, stops for lunch, all-nighters via Atlanta, tickets, tolls, and passengers. We all think we know where we are going, but do we really? I see people speed by me all the time as if they knew where they were going, but they were only going to the next stoplight. We have maps, directions, signs, landmarks, street signs, flashing arrows, advice, notes, and the stray fingerpost indicating the way home. Some people are not going home and spend their entire lives running away from home as if they knew something we do not. Some people are searching day and night for the way to enlightenment, which they substitute for home. Halfway through my life I found myself lost, the main road was nowhere in sight, and I found myself deep inside a scary, frightening forest, dark and cold. I heard strange noises of wild beasts and strange colored birds. I was completely lost and didn’t know what to do. My maps were useless, there was no cell coverage, no data plan, and there was no one to ask. I was utterly alone–friends and acquaintances were nowhere to be found. How could this have happened? I had always planned so well, left a proverbial trail of crumbs wherever I went, but all of that was for nothing. I walked along, shivering and cold. Night was falling, and the air smelled like rain. A cold breeze was blowing in the trees. Should I move on, search for some indication of direction, or should I sit down on this boulder and cry? Maybe I should climb a tree to get a better view of the land and figure out where I was. The area I was in seemed abandoned and had a prehistoric look to it–no path, no signs of human habitation at all. I sneezed and felt miserable. I was tired. One plans and studies, works and saves, dedicates time to planning for the road, and here I was, lost, tired and desperate. It is on these dark nights when the soul yearns for a direction that will lead it home. I always thought I was in control, that I could do things to insure a certain outcome, that I could manipulate my destiny. But here I am, out of bounds, in the woods, off the road, threatened by who knows what wild animals. I suppose I could tear through the woods like a crazy person, hoping I was going in the right direction. I could just sit here and choose immobility as a mode of transportation. Or I could just start wandering around and hope they I see something that I recognize and find my way back. I haven’t seen anyone in days and I’m starting to question my own judgment. Am I hallucinating? I hope I make it out of here.