rule<\/a>\u2018 of pilgrim life is to Get Lost.<\/h3>\nHalloween of 2017 I was vis\u00a0iting family in Albuquerque.\u00a0 I decided to climb Sandia Peak. The trail was obvious, the sun bright. Halfway up I saw frost on the trail, which then turned to snow, and then ice on large rocks.<\/p>\n
Relieved to reach the top, I followed the sign to the cable car which would take me back down.\u00a0 It was closed. Not a soul was in sight. Going back down was out of the question, but how else to get back?<\/p>\n
Even when you know where you are, you can be lost when you have no idea how to get back.<\/h3>\n
I remembered there was a visitor center was up there somewhere.\u00a0 My map told me which direction, but there was no road.\u00a0 Dead reckoning was my only choice, meaning pointing in the general direction and correcting as I go.\u00a0 Through mud and over fallen trees, I made my way in what I hoped was the right direction. Not until I saw the building was I sure.<\/p>\n
The experience of getting lost is powerful.<\/h3>\n
Ever since getting lost as a kid I have felt a deep dread of being lost. Because of that I have allowed myself to get lost many times since. Only in late adulthood have I discovered that it is spiritually valuable. Henry David Thoreau discovered this. \u201cNot till we are lost\u2026 do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Real change of a spiritual kind requires losing yourself,<\/h3>\n
because you have to relinquish staying where you are to![Film still from the 1947 film \"Dead Reckoning\"](\"https:\/\/prod-images.tcm.com\/Master-Profile-Images\/deadreckoning1947.3801.jpg\")
go where you want to go.\u00a0 To get lost is to lose yourself not just your bearings.\u00a0 Am I me in a place utterly different?<\/p>\n
Each physical pilgrimage journey I take is a reminder of that, and of the fact that no matter where I end up, where I have been is still with me.\u00a0 You could say that pilgrim life is spiritual dead reckoning through life.<\/p>\n
Two more to go.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The third \u2018rule\u2018 of pilgrim life is to Get Lost. Halloween of 2017 I was vis\u00a0iting family in Albuquerque.\u00a0 I decided to climb Sandia Peak. The trail was obvious, the sun bright. Halfway up I saw frost on the trail, which then turned to snow, and then ice on large rocks. Relieved to reach the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4842,"featured_media":1283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Get Lost<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Get Lost\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pilgrim Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.wooden.5\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1635\/2024\/03\/Sandia-Snow-w-WFW-rotated.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fred Wooden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fred Wooden\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/\",\"name\":\"Get Lost\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#\/schema\/person\/2828d1f03cbf1d49cd7aa4cb0ebfdda2\"},\"description\":\"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Get Lost\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/\",\"name\":\"Pilgrim Life\",\"description\":\"Follow Fred through time and place as a literal and figurative pilgrim who finds wisdom in failure and beauty in confusion.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#\/schema\/person\/2828d1f03cbf1d49cd7aa4cb0ebfdda2\",\"name\":\"Fred Wooden\",\"description\":\"Fred (technically Weldon Frederick) Wooden is a late life author, because he spent over forty years as a clergyman in six churches spread over five states. While doing that he wrote sermons and columns and wondered if any of it would matter in the long run. Fred has led many lives - composer, pastor, pilgrim, political candidate, newspaper columnist, radio host, father and spouse. They have taken him from boyhood in Maryland to studies in Missouri and Illinois, work in Massachusets, Austin Texas, Brooklyn NY and Grand Rapids Michigan. He has explored Mexico, New Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Turkey, India, China, Japan and Europe. Those who have read his travel accounts often say, \\\"I feel like I am actually with you as you go.\\\" Fred takes you along whatever the journey he is on.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/fredwooden.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.wooden.5\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/fredwooden\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/author\/fwooden\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Get Lost","description":"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Get Lost","og_description":"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/","og_site_name":"Pilgrim Life","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.wooden.5","article_published_time":"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1635\/2024\/03\/Sandia-Snow-w-WFW-rotated.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Fred Wooden","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fred Wooden","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/","name":"Get Lost","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-14T18:36:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#\/schema\/person\/2828d1f03cbf1d49cd7aa4cb0ebfdda2"},"description":"The third rule of Pilgrim Life is to Get Lost. Until are somewhere you do not know, you will think you know where you are.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/2025\/02\/get-lost\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Get Lost"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/","name":"Pilgrim Life","description":"Follow Fred through time and place as a literal and figurative pilgrim who finds wisdom in failure and beauty in confusion.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/#\/schema\/person\/2828d1f03cbf1d49cd7aa4cb0ebfdda2","name":"Fred Wooden","description":"Fred (technically Weldon Frederick) Wooden is a late life author, because he spent over forty years as a clergyman in six churches spread over five states. While doing that he wrote sermons and columns and wondered if any of it would matter in the long run. Fred has led many lives - composer, pastor, pilgrim, political candidate, newspaper columnist, radio host, father and spouse. They have taken him from boyhood in Maryland to studies in Missouri and Illinois, work in Massachusets, Austin Texas, Brooklyn NY and Grand Rapids Michigan. He has explored Mexico, New Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Turkey, India, China, Japan and Europe. Those who have read his travel accounts often say, \"I feel like I am actually with you as you go.\" Fred takes you along whatever the journey he is on.","sameAs":["http:\/\/fredwooden.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.wooden.5","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/fredwooden\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/author\/fwooden\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4842"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pilgrimlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.natureoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/mban2480_hi.jpg\")
The third \u2018rule<\/a>\u2018 of pilgrim life is to Get Lost.<\/h3>\n