Lost
From the Middle of the Wood
Dante begins his famous work The Inferno with the intriguing line:
I woke up in the middle of the wood, and it was dark and there was no clear way before me.
Dante frames the line by saying that it came to him in the middle of his life journey. Many of us can relate to the experience of being lost somewhere in the middle of our life journeys. Somewhere along the line things start to fall apart and the way forward becomes murky.
Maybe Jesus senses this ennui when from a boat he approaches the shore of Lake Galilee and looks upon the gathering crowd “with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). He sees us in exactly this fashion.
Feeling lost in the middle of a dark wood can be a scary thing. Or it can begin the process of being found. Thoughts?
Like this one Alan. However this 'being lost' can occur as well at a later than middle-age stage. In your 70's you are off the workforce, children grown and gone, grandchildren now in their early 20's. Perhaps some physical challenges and what do 'you' do now. Even with hobbies you begin to wonder what now...
Thanks for sharing.🙏
Great reframe!