Last week Ernest and I bypassed our usual forest starting point and drove around the corner to another entrance. It's the same forest but on the other side of the creek.
- We were enjoying the adventure and decided to keep walking past the point we had always previously turned around at.
- We saw new mythic tree stumps, a new part of the creek.
- We smelled new smells, ran through new clearings.
- We turned around eventually.
- And then we got lost (or at least I did).
- We worked up a sweat (and a pant).
- I love new things. And I've been feeling the post-trip slump after returning from California. I have come to recognize this slump as an inevitable element of every trip.
- I learned that Ernest loves new things, too. Our relationship and his attentiveness grew stronger with all the new input.
- But I was feeling extra stuck in this slump, stuck in my small home.
- The newness of this forest spot provided me the inspiration I knew I needed but didn't know how to access.
- We were only able to get to this newness in a spot so close to home by getting lost.
- We were only able to access inspiration by going past the point of known into the unknown.
- We were only able to move beyond the slump by moving with doubt, frustration, and unplanned sweat.
- So yeah, getting lost is part of the plan.
- If it's not, then where does the juice to keep going come from?
Til next time,
Cassandra
P.S. Another element of the slump has been falling out of my groove of writing you every week. I'll be dancing my way back to a weekly groove again soon. 🌲