I think that perhaps this is my favorite new travel quote. I have no idea where it came from, but I love both the words and the meaning behind the words.
The quote says stop planning everything. Be willing to risk. It says you don’t have to have all the answers, you don’t have to be in control. Take off your shoes and walk in the grass, sit down on the couch and put your feet up, put down the map for a time.
True for travel, true for life.
I have often thought of my life as this map, predetermined at every turn; if I don’t stay on course, all sorts of terrible things will follow me. And so when things don’t go according to this imaginary map I think I’m doing something wrong – I think “Where did I go off course? Where did I lose my way?” There are times when this is helpful and self-analysis shows me areas that I can change or routes that I can take to get on course. But other times, it’s not about the map. It’s about life. It’s about being willing to let go and give up control to the Map Maker. It’s those times when I need to put down that map and get wonderfully lost.
So today at the start of a holiday weekend, put down that map and get wonderfully lost!
Blogger’s note: I’m heading south so stay tuned for a post next week called “Boiled Peanuts and Bless Her Heart – Memorial Day Weekend in the South!” I won’t be able to respond to comments right away but be sure that I will read and respond when I get back. Have a great weekend and thank you for reading this blog – it is a gift to me!
Marilyn R. Gardner 
Maybe that should go along with “Put Down That Camera and Just Look!” :-) How often in life and in travel do I miss out on really “being there” by thinking too much about the next great photo opportunity, clever Facebook update, blog post, etc.
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Yes! Exactly! Last summer while in a picture perfect place I suddenly realized I wasn’t enjoying the moment because I had to get that “picture to go with my blog post!” Thank you for linking this for me~
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Mom and Bettie – I love that poem too! and it was quite perfect for this weekend as we trailed over many “less traveled” roads. My only regret is that there was so much time in the mountains and none in Macon. My heart was so sad last night.
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I think Marilyn lost her map over this Memorial Day weekend!!!!
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I did Bettie – and we got lost in black bear country…..
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Marilyn, I don’t think Cliff has ever served us boiled peanuts. Better bring some back for Jonny’s graduation party. Have a great time, and come back safe and sound.
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Thanks Polly. Perhaps you didn’t get it when you and Ralph decided to go to Pakistan, but we often got, “are you out of your mind?” That is, have you lost your map as it were. Had we followed the map so nicely laid out for us by others, just think what we would have missed!!! Enjoy the long weekend.
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Oh, yes, Bettie! One very clear memory before we went out the first time. An older lady spoke quite severely to me, “It’s fine for you and your husband, but I certainly hope you don’t plan to have any children. How could you possibly bring up children in a place like that?” Little did she know, and I didn’t enlighten her, I was early in my first pregnancy. One of the great joys of sorting through our tangible “memories”, all the things we have saved, is realizing once again what a rich life we have had – can’t take them all with us, but have to take enough to remind us of the people God has put into our lives. Even while we continue to live in the present, we are blessed so much with all those memories of our past life.
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Mom and I like to go for drives on a regular basis. Some of our most wonderful drives have been when we’ve gotten lost, driving aimlessly down country roads knowing that sooner or later we’ll end up in a familiar place. We’ve seen a lot of unexpected and beautiful scenery and have had some good laughs. Mom does now have a Rand McNally atlas in her car, but we rarely use it.
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I love that you and your mom do that! What fun. It sounds like a perfect activity in our world that is so structured and planned!
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Robert Frost said, “I took the road less traveled and it made all the difference.”
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“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….” I love that poem, Bettie. And learned this year from a Japanese ESL student that Robert Frost’s poetry is well known in Japan! Both Ralph’s and my students really appreciated poetry, so we often used a poem in our lessons.
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