I don’t have a map and I am not sure what the wilderness may have in store for me. The temptation is that I will just follow what others have done before me, just like with AllTrails and other online maps, for the most part they are showing a good way to go and it may be just what I need. But there is much that I might miss.

There is a shame factor that I notice in the hiking and backpacking community. If you see someone hiking in less than the best or most high-tech gear or clothing, there is a level of shame that others project. “How dare you come into the wilderness without the best?!” It is a muttered, not-quite unspoken classist rant that occurs, especially after people need to be rescued. You must have the right kind of gear or you have no reason to be out here. This is a dangerous, shaming, exclusive attitude that I admit I have participated in as well.

One of the things that Bridges recommends is that one stay active in the “neutral zone” – the space between the ending (leaving parish-based ministry) and the beginning (which is something that has yet to emerge). For me, this is the journey I am in right now.

Part of my wilderness is not knowing who I am. Ask me, “who are you,” and I will tell you that I do not know. I do not know who I am.

There is this idea that we need to push ourselves, we need to keep our head down and overcome whatever challenge are before us. And to give up, to leave, to quit, can be seen as a weakness.

I find myself in a place where I have had an amazing summer and am looking forward to another amazing summer but in between I don’t know where I am going and I feel lost and it is scary. This is a different wilderness for me; one that I do not feel qualified or equipped to traverse. This is where I am.

Community is important, especially in the wilderness

For various reasons we all have things that we are afraid of. What is the source of those fears? Are they from past experiences? Are they from what you have heard from others? What are the fears that are getting in the way of you taking chances, doing new and different things, and living?

Knowing when to turn around before reaching your destination is a soft skill.

    We all get afraid in the wilderness. It may be because of imagined fears of monsters or creatures that we create in our minds but in reality, do not exist. Or it may be because of real dangers. We all get afraid in life because of imagined dangers and real dangers. Fear is a part of life and instead of trying to avoid situations, we can focus and adapt how we encounter them.

We all get lost from time to time. In different moments in our lives we realize that we are not where we intended and we don’t know how we got there and have no idea how to get out.

I am inviting you to consider the birds and the bees, the dirt and the sun, the trees and the flowers and all else within creation as your neighbor. What if creation itself is our neighbor?