Marie Taylor, Ink

I remember a commercial on TV a few years ago sponsored by one of the car rental firms. This particular pitch showed the car’s dashboard sporting a built-in GPS. If you rented one of their cars, you would never get lost again — no matter how naturally befuddled or easily confused you normally were.

I railed at the assumption that getting lost was all bad. In fact, some of my favorite stories are getting lost adventures. I’m thinking now of Robinson Crusoe, Shangri-La, Alice in Wonderland, The Call of the Wild, The Lost City of Z, Where’s Waldo!

What I found so annoying was the subliminal message, assumption, cultural cue, that a person should never be in a situation in which he does not know exactly where he is, where he going and how to get to his destination. This is very results-driven, very destination-oriented, very up-tight and high pressure.

The message is that security can only be found in the ‘known,’ that the unknown, the unexpected, the new, is dangerous. In fact, the unknown is so dangerous that we’re going to put Big Brother in the sky to look down on you. We always know exactly where you are and where you are going. You will never get lost again. All of your journeys will be routed ones. Holy cow!

I think our culture has become so safety-oriented that we no longer see the value of chaos. Have you noticed that it is only when you realize you don’t know any answers that you find them; that it is only after you admit you are lost that you find your way; that it is only when you acknowledge you are lonely that the Other arrives?

In other words, Chaos is the great melting pot of life. It is the place where stars are born and the place where we start and where we end up.

It’s also interesting to observe reactions to being lost. For example, a companion and I took a trip one summer along the Pacific coast. There was an energy vortex over the town of Gilroy and no matter which road we took, Gilroy was always five miles ahead.

My companion (male pilot) refused to listen to any of my (female navigator) suggestions. It mattered not that I had the map as well as the leisure to contemplate it. Instead, he took a reading from the Compass Gland that is located at the base of the spine in the males of any species. The pointer set a direction from which we dare not deviate. We were off!

My responsibility during this “Finding Our Way” phase of the trip consisted of reading the map and calling out directions while freeway signs flew overhead. His job was to pretend deafness, wave his arms and careen down exit ramps at the last possible moment only to head up another ramp going in the opposite direction.

Needless to say this was memorable trip for both of us and very revealing of our individual temperaments. We did make it to the ocean and after a couple of stiff drinks, resumed conversing in less hostile tones.

Strangely enough, we both felt responsible for finding our way out of Chaos and therefore had the smug satisfaction of being right while mentally giving a sniff and a toss of the head at the other’s ineptitude (except that I knew he really had been lost).

The chaotic journey is packed with energy perhaps undirected but full of life and attitude. In contrast, the mapped journey is straight and narrow without interesting side trips. You may get there faster but not wiser nor happier. Getting lost is an opportunity to discover where you are — and perhaps who you are.