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A growing sense of uneasiness began to overtake my every thought. The realization that I was lost was becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Decades before corn mazes became popular, I had wandered out into my grandfather’s 26-acre farm and gotten lost in a sea of corn.
I was recently reminded of how the corn stalks obstructed my view and how I could only see a few feet in front of me. Row after row, I trudged on, convinced that I had already walked for an eternity. Eventually I found the way out, and I found something else.
On a few occasions, I would purposely repeat getting lost in that ocean of corn and sometimes I would try to predict where I would come out. I was always surprised to come out on the other side in a place that I hadn’t predicted.
That seems so long ago. The old farm is gone. Almost nothing remains from that time and place. Yet, I do remember that endless corn and an undeniable certainty. Regardless of how lost I got, I knew that there was something on the other side. All things come to an end.
The truths that we learned so long ago are often tossed aside in the hustle and bustle of daily life. The pace of daily life doesn’t encourage a person to ponder, understand or even imagine. Society seems more like a construction crew feverishly building a road to a future they have declared themselves entitled to.
My ears listened to the corn. I have found myself in many situations that I didn’t predict. I have read the poem and the book. I realize how the best laid plans of mice and men often turn resolution. I have heard that if you want to go somewhere you’ve never been, you’ve got to be willing to do something different.
So, this year my resolution will have a twist. I intend to get lost. I intend to get lost in the experience, in the moment. I’ve heard that we know short because of tall. We know rich because of poor. We may even know good because of evil.
So, I intend to get lost whenever I can. I intend to get lost just to see what I find. Happy New Year!
Mickey F. Maddox
Gainesville