Living Love Through The Practice of Invitation

“[T]he practice of getting lost has nothing to do with wanting to go there. It is something that happens, like it or not. You lose your job. Your lover leaves. The baby dies. At this level, the advanced practice of getting lost consists of consenting to be lost, since you have no other choice. The consenting itself becomes your choice, as you explore the possibility that life is for you and not against you, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.” – Barbara Brown Taylor

In the chapter on “Wilderness”, Barbara Brown Taylor uses the image of a cow path.  She observed a herd of cows and noted that despite the fact that they had plenty of space to explore they tended to stay on their narrow worn paths to their favorite watering holes, shady spots, and clover patches.  We have similar patterns in much of our day to day life–driving the same way to work for instance.  However, what if we leave the “cow path”.  What if we venture into unpredictable territory or “wilderness”?  We can do that intentionally (driving a different route to work for instance), but more often than not it is something that happens, like it or not.  As Barbara Brown Taylor reflects:   You lose your job. Your lover leaves. The baby dies. At this level, the advanced practice of getting lost consists of consenting to be lost, since you have no other choice. The consenting itself becomes your choice, as you explore the possibility that life is for you and not against you, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.”

Even though being in the wilderness can be difficult, there is so much to be gained if we let ourselves be open to it. The unpredictable territory can be full of life and opportunities.  When we are in wilderness times, we can’t stay unconscious.  We pay more attention to all that is going on in and around us.  Being “lost” helps get in touch with our vulnerability.  When we are lost we rely on the hospitality of strangers or others in our community.  It is an opportunity for her to us say thanks and really mean it.

As we practice the experience of being lost (either by choice or by force), we can more and more understand that getting lost isn’t a detour, it’s the path; getting lost isn’t only about losing but also about receiving and that wilderness is full of  plenty of other lost people, too.

Plate Partner: Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Interested in solving climate change? You are welcome in Citizens’ Climate. We’re regular people from Idaho who are working together to get climate laws passed. We believe that the only way to tackle climate change is together. We connect over shared concerns, build consensus, and work with elected officials from every party towards climate solutions.

Together, we make a much bigger impact than we could individually by:

• Starting productive conversations about climate solutions in our community
• Getting more people talking about solutions
• Building support for climate action with community leaders
• Meeting with our members of Congress to advocate for effective climate solutions

You can’t solve climate change alone – but together, we can. You in?

Explore this Plate Partner HERE