Last weekend I visited Yosemite National Park in Northern California. As I drove into the park, I was enamored; in awe. Instead of buildings, freeways, and fast-food joints, I reveled in the sight of mountains, meadows, and pine trees. I had a feeling it was going to be a weekend I would never forget.

We woke up early Friday morning to hike Panorama Trail, an 8 mile hike from Glacier Point to the Yosemite Valley floor. The beauty that surrounded us on the hike exceeded my expectations; the trail was full of flowers in bloom, trees as far as the eyes could see, friendly hikers, and sunshine that gently kissed my skin. The journey was challenging, but blissful nonetheless. Blissful, that is, until we realized {five miles into our trip} that we had made a wrong turn somewhere. When the trail we were on randomly decided to end, we looked at our map and realized that we should have seen a footbridge about 3 miles back. We had no choice but to turn around and try to discover the turn we had missed. We made the trek back to discover a sign, that was partially hidden by a fallen tree, which pointed us in a totally different direction. Long story short- our 8 mile hike turned into over 13 miles. I thought my joints in the lower-half of my body were going to explode from how painful and tired they were from hiking up and down steep hills, trampling over rocks, and working vigorously for nine hours straight, but alas, we reached our final destination, gorged on the yummiest BBQ, and had the most glorious nights sleep.

While driving home from the valley, I looked through the pictures I took on my digital camera, reflected upon the memories made during the past few days, and jotted down a quick note in my phone containing a few crucial life lessons I was reminded of during our hike. They were as follows:

1. 1. With every difficulty comes opportunity. If we hadn’t gotten lost we wouldn’t have crossed beautiful new territory, wouldn’t have been hurting so good {does that even make sense?} at the end of the hike, and wouldn’t have this great story to share. Further, thirteen miles of trekking through the Yosemite valley tested our strength and pushed us to new limits; ultimately, giving us the opportunity to become stronger, both mentally and physically.
2. 2. Complaining doesn’t make any situation better. Ever. On the hike, my toes {reminder: buy hiking boots next Yosemite trip}, ankles, knees, and joints felt as if they were going to shatter at any moment. I was hot. I was tired. I was hungry. But, I realized that no matter how much I whined about being hot, tired, or hungry, I wouldn’t be any less of these. I would only feel worse, more heavily weighed down by negative energy. I made a silent promise to myself that I would not express my discomfort with complaints. Instead, I thought about how beautiful our world is, how blessed I am to be able to explore it freely, and how deeply I cherish spending quality time spent with loved ones.
3. Getting lost can be a good thing. Not only when exploring our vast world, but also when venturing through life. Getting lost is an opportunity to find something greater; to explore; to discover; to learn about ourselves and the world at large. When you feel lost, alone, confused, or just totally out-of-what, take a moment to revel in the idea that you have the opportunity to re-build yourself and grow into someone stronger, wiser, and more in touch with yourself. I’ve created myself thus far not by having a flawless, perfectly-pleasant hike through life, but by getting lost along the way and by letting my low-points build me, not break me. If you allow it to, getting lost can be a good thing.

Don’t be afraid to explore the endless opportunities that life has to offer, even if it means getting lost along the way. When experiencing any given difficulity, you have the choice to view every obstacle as an opportunity, to appreciate your situation rather than complain about it, to push yourself instead of staying stagnant, and to live fully and freely in each moment. Stretch your limits, step out of your safe-zone, and dare to live.

Happy getting lost,

Jordan Brown

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