How about getting lost on purpose? Then are you really lost? If you know eventually you are going to find your way again? Then are you really lost? Or just exploring?

“Not All Who Wander Are Lost” is one of my favourite, favourite quotes and it comes from the great JRR Tolkein, the great author and creator of Middle Earth with all it’s Hobbits, Elves, Goblins, Ogres and Dragons.

These days, I, like lots of people am doing a lot of walking (our dog doesn’t quite know what’s hit her – happy days for her with 4 of us suddenly taking her for walks). This was always a time for reflection for me but to keep things interesting, I have always, but especially now, liked to explore new deviations, new routes or new ways of exploring my existing routes. Not getting lost, just wandering.

I see people out and about wandering around too, I’m sure for some it’s a new experience, doing so because at the moment in these weird times of lockdown it’s pretty much the only form of exercise permitted in the UK. I hope that they too are wandering but not lost.

So you may see me out and about looking without purpose, like I’m not going anywhere fast. That’s the point – aren’t we all often rushing around too much these days? Perhaps this moment is timely for reflection, allowing yourself time to wander rather than feeling lost.

Of course this also works at every level, you don’t have to go out to wander, you can do so right where you are. When so much of what you considered ‘normal’ has been stripped away, it’s actually a great time to look at what you considered normal in the first place. It’s a great time for anyone who wants to understand themselves when our usual way of living has been stripped bare, leaving us only with the essentials: ourselves, our families.

What is left when everything else is taken away is closer to who we really are. Just as wildlife returns to our cities when we are quiet, our true natures return to us when we are quiet. For me the current situation is devastating for many but also a very poignant reminder of how very fragile we are and how we should never take for granted or abuse our place on this Earth and in nature, which at the end of the day we are part of and need to respect (in my view a lot more than we have done as a species).

The lockdown happening all over the world right now thanks to Covid-19 can start to feel like imprisonment. True reflection would be to ask: are you within the prison, or is the prison within you? If we take an honest look at the things that truly make us happy, we will often see how much of that comes from within. I believe that strength can be found when we dig deep and find what makes us happy inside of ourselves (as opposed to what’s outside in the world). Do this and you may be able to find that same happiness in any situation – and the prison mindset will vanish, even if you are physically confined to where you are.

For me personally, I love challenges so I end up creating systems and gamifying the tiniest of things in life in order to experiment, learn, enjoy life and keep things playful. I firmly believe that in any situation, life is too short, life is too good (hence the name of this website, it’s actually a core belief of mine) and life is what we make it. We are here for such a limited time but with such amazing possibilities – yes, even confined as we are at the moment.

For you the reflection may bring different perspectives and ways of constructing your view of the world (and we all have our own) that works well for you. The fundamentals have to be the same though – true strength comes from within and very often it’s not the situation that we are put in which is the problem but the way we choose to address it. Even at the worst of times.

Again, this is not to say we ignore all the traumas and tragedies happening every day around us at the moment but that we hit what we are faced with head on, and despite whatever situation we are facing give ourselves the very best chance to make the very best of it.

Can you use this time to wander, rather than feeling lost?