By our house, there is a park. And in that park, there's a path, a path that my son Will and I try to meander down daily so Mommy doesn't have one of those bikini-fail kind of summers...ugh. This morning was a particularly awe-inspiring, spring in Montana, sunny day; the type one endures the seemingly-endless winters here just to catch a whiff of. As William snoozed snugly in his Ergo pouch, I walked and "mused" over the winding path supporting my feet.
One of my younger sister's favorite sayings wouldn't stay out of my head - "Not all those who wander are lost." Although semi-cliche these days, for her, it is a reassurance; a reminder that although some life decisions are made on faith, it does not mean that a misstep or tangent journey is fruitless or lacks purpose.
As we wandered over our trail this morning, I couldn't help but ruminate on the idea that America is surprisingly anti-wander. Whether that wandering be mental, emotional, or physical changes in locale, the sentiment remains: for all the high and mighty talk about purpose-seeking, non-traditional career/ life choices, and mobile citizenry, the American bias still rests with those who pretend to know exactly what they want and how they are going to get it. As any recent college graduate knows, our parents, mentors, potential loan-lenders, grad schools, or would-be employers don't value wandering. Why take the risk on someone society tells us is "unstable," "unreliable," or "un_____ (please insert any other valuable-trait-adjective here)?" They believe it's just not worth it to invest in someone without a track record of anti-wandering impulses. Now for some endeavors, this bias makes sense - why offer wander-prone "X" a job, spend the time and money training them, only to have them leave for a new kick a month later?
HOWEVER, what this "go for stable" attitude fails to recognize is the distinction between those wanderers who abuse society's trust and act out of selfish, premeditated, vagrant-dom, versus those for whom wandering is more of a "wriggling in to that new pair of jeans that don't quite fit right yet" phase. I know, I know, I'm sounding much more postmodern than usual today (... maybe it's because I watched my first episode of Glee last night and all I can say is, "Holy Nietzsche Batman!"... ANY WAY... ironic that this post is on wandering eh?), but I feel there is something to be said for responsible wandering. For example:
Exhibit A/ Enlightening Metaphor...
Outside of Deer Lodge, MT, there's a tributary of the Clark Fork that I swear is the most twisty-turning river I've ever seen! Every time I'm there, I always marvel at it's switch-backing roundabouts and man-made looping rolls. Why would anyone force a river in to such an unlikely path you ask? TO CLEAN IT! By allowing a river to wind instead of forcing it to be linear, the rivers sediment/pollutant/bad things in general, scrubbers kick in and naturally keep the flowing water clean! Because of this, wandering rivers are cleaner, healthier, and more stable than their "straight and narrow" counterparts. With rivers, wandering is a good thing.
Just as the twists and turns in a river help remove unwanted babble, human wandering also has the potential to refine; to force self-reflection and growth that would never otherwise be inspired. Wandering by definition admits a lack of will concerning one's direction; a giving over of control; a surrendering to our inability to predict or mandate our futures. Wandering admits the truth that we are not the ones in charge of our destinies.
So to all you anti-wanderers out there, today I encourage you to explore. To let go and give wandering a try.
You might be surprised where you end up...
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