Finding Your Way Home from the Lost and Found

by Noah benShea

Life is an intricate combination of paths and passages. And on this winding, sometimes blinding journey, it can be difficult to find one’s way or to reach the exit we long for.

This is also the perfect definition of a labyrinth. So to say life is like a labyrinth is to state the obvious. Unfortunately, the obvious is often camouflaged by its obviousness.

Because life is a labyrinth, and always has been, people across time have sought the guiding help of a star, a compass, a philosopher, a religion or a therapist. Roll that into one and you have a guide.

To be in need of help in finding our way is not a fault or a flaw. It is being self-accountable. It is saying to yourself, “I want to do something about feeling lost or being lost.” And, oh yeah, keep this in mind: No one, no one has ever found their way in life who has not at some point felt lost.

In elementary school, the room filled with unclaimed jackets and battered lunch boxes was called the Lost and Found. But whether we are simply weathering growing up, dealing with getting older, or on the front lines battling addiction, all of us, at any age, have felt the elementary truth that the best in us is still waiting to be reclaimed.

Of course, parents have always felt that putting your name on something would keep it from getting lost. Unfortunately, even as all of us have names, too many of us feel we have not only lost our way but have also lost what is the best in us.

Reclaiming ourselves doesn’t just feel like a labyrinth, it is a labyrinth. It is the challenge of finding our way through the maze of yes, no, maybe, never again. And a maze, like a labyrinth, by any definition, can be a tortuous arrangement.

Finding our way in any struggle or to any goal can be a confusingly intricate state of things or events. In this 24/7, day-to-day searching and coping, we are often caught in a bewildering complex. And we often forget that finding our way in life’s labyrinth — while a struggle — is also a sacred journey.

What elevates this struggle to the sacred is the regard we hold for our journey. Finding our way is a sacred calling. Finding our way is our soul’s plea to come home from the lost and found. And throwing our soul a welcome home party is a healing of the highest order.

Feeling lost is a solitary emotion shared by all of us. Feeling lost is something any of us can feel in the every day. The goal is to turn that every day into a rare day. Because nothing feels better than feeling better.

If you can find a labyrinth to walk in, you will find your personal labyrinth is not so different. Going the wrong way, discovering an exit that is not an exit and watching yourself walk in circles reminds human beings they are human. Welcome to the club.

But, take note. As a species, we are called “homo sapiens” — wise humans. And for any of us hoping to find our way home from lost to found, it is wise to find a guide, a caring guide, a guide who has “been there, done that.” Why? Because the right guide will help you do less “been there, done that.” The traps in life seldom wear name tags that say “trap.”

It doesn’t matter how big, important or tough you are. No bear ever thought he would wind up in a bear trap. Life is predictably unpredictable. Do not be confused that your life will be without confusion. Life is a maze; you may as well do something about it.

For those who like to boast, “I will figure it out,” let me offer this: Experience is a good teacher, but the tuition is your life.

If you don’t think finding a wise guide to help you find your way in life’s labyrinth is a good idea, you might think on the wisdom of that old cowboy John Wayne who said, “Partner, life is tough and tougher when you’re stupid.”

In this brief life, those who say they do not need help will discover they just bought a condominium in the Lost and Found. And how they got there and how they will get out will remain a labyrinth absent of exit.

It is not the philosopher’s job to make the simple difficult but the difficult simple. So, dare I repeat? Life is a labyrinth. Finding your way in life is a sacred journey. Can it be tricky? Yes. Can you find your way? Yes. How?

1) Do not be dismayed that you are feeling lost or are lost.

2) Do not confuse how you feel with who you are.

3) Find a guide who will help you will find your way.

All of us have experienced the fear of being lost. What we too often forget is that we are people with lanterns going in search of a light.

Every labyrinth in life has an exit, a way out. Find a good guide, and you are already on the way. Peace on your journey.

This post was inspired by the labryinth prayer walk at The Canyon at Peace Park, a safe haven of recovery in Malibu, California, for those suffering from co-occurring addiction and mental health conditions.

— Noah benShea

About Noah

Noah benShea is one of North America’s most respected and beloved poet-philosophers. An international bestselling author of 23 books translated into 18 languages, including the famed Jacob the Baker series, his inspirational thoughts have appeared on more than 30 million Starbucks coffee cups. His weekly columns on life were published for five years by the New York Times Regional Syndicate and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In addition to his many accomplishments, he serves as Philosopher In Residence for Foundations Recovery Network and is Executive Director of THE JUSTICE PROJECT.