LOST = FOUND

Has there ever been a period in your life where you feel completely lost? Lost that is meant in a spiritual, guided way. Not a pleasant feeling, is it? Then some miracle happens, could be anything. It could even be some compelling moment in time such as those imaginary light bulbs that pop up in cartoons. That ah ha moment!

There are many opportunities that can guide you along the way…along life’s path…religion, certainly, your spouse or close friend, parents, your children, a book, music, or art, a movie or TV show (LOST).
For me, the ah ha moment was when I traveled around the world, and discovered who I was…what was interesting at the time, I knew I had lost my own that spiritual path had fallen off course, and was well, lost. When I rediscovered how to get back on course, it was as illuminating, and mentally as invigorating as anything I’ve ever experienced. I highly recommend it. Being found.

For Danny in Overland, when he escaped and ran down hill towards his freedom, it was in harm’s way and war time, but he had never felt more alive and free. Although perilous, he found life’s path, and never looked back!

Mark Stephen Levy published his novel Overland in 2009, a fictional account of an American stranded in Kabul, Afghanistan on December, 27, 1979 the day the Soviets invade.

A SHELTERED LIFE

I want to thank everybody who has chosen to follow my blog and to read some of the posts over the last few weeks. I do hope you are enjoying them.

To refresh the idea of what the OVERLAND blog is all about: to take one of life's many wistful abstract concepts, and weave them into one of the themes included in the novel OVERLAND. In previous weeks I have written about finding lost loves, a pleasant memory frozen in time, writing what we know, and a few other arbitrary yet meaningful posts.

Today's entry is about living a sheltered life. I would think most of us do. In fact it is in our innate survival instincts living in a modern society, to make our life as comfortable and least disruptive as possible. We become used to our routines, and eventually settled in our ways. Recently, I had to get a new bed pillow because the one I had simply wore out. I loved that pillow, the way my head contoured to the down feathers within. My new pillow took some getting used to, and as silly as this may sound, it is our survival instincts to adapt....even to a new pillow.

Have you ever been shaken up by your routine, and dislodged from your comfortable life and literally had to reinvent yourself? Perhaps (God forbid) losing your home, or your job, a painful relationship, some traumatizing event with your kids, or even just going through your life with no disruptions is all very disturbing and life changing. Even the actual routine itself could cause internal conflicts that we clandestinely wish for something to happen...something to shake us out of our routine and sheltered life.

Danny, our main character from OVERLAND is a prime example. Although living in Los Angeles, his life was very sheltered as he went from school to medical school and to his eventual residency, never traveling more than a five mile radius…except for that one time when he was 17 and traveled for an extended family reunion in Northern Ireland.

Let's just say that was his wake up call to let him know there was more to life than his five mile radius back home. And perhaps this time away from home for the couple weeks in Northern Ireland was the seed to allow him to make that impetuous decision to follow Heather half way around the world when she left. That was a pretty adventurous and brave decision for someone who had lived such a sheltered life.

As the reader will discover in OVERLAND, why would someone of Danny’s upbringing and serious path of medical studies and to ultimately become a doctor, would set off on such an untamed notion of finding someone when it appeared so highly unlikely to achieve it? You'll want to read the book to find out.

As scary as the notion of a disruption of your life is, sometimes can be the best medicine. It worked for Danny. It's worked for me. Has this ever happened to you?

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated!

LOVE- LOST AND FOUND

I think finding a lost love has become somewhat of a phenomenon. Have you ever wondered what EVER happened to your boyfriend or girlfriend from high school or college? Or even in your jobs and life in your 20’s or 30’s, or 40’s? With the plethora of internet social networking sites, mainly Facebook, this has become extremely possible.



TIME magazine recently had a similar article about this very same subject. Their summation that for the most part, is better to leave those stones unturned. Maybe ten, twenty, or thirty years have passed since you last laid eyes on each other. Back then, maybe you were just friends and wanted each other, but circumstances were in the way and now’s the time. The one thing is certain: you are each ten, twenty or thirty years older. How has time treated you? Would it be a disappointment to see each other so many years later? Would you even want to know and allow the younger image etched in your head stay as is? Or would it be the most incredible thing for some fantasy come to life? So many technical and theoretical questions!


And here’s a most interesting prospect: What if you weren’t expecting to find your lost love, and suddenly, voila, there they are. What would you do, and how would you react? Again, more theoretical and this time, emotional questions. But they’re good ones. As you ponder and dwell on this prospect from your own life, I raise the question because in OVERLAND, there is a very pivotal scene as I just described.

Danny, our main character in OVERLAND, had been jilted by his long time girlfriend Heather. He wanted to marry her, but she decided to travel overland on a Magic Bus from London to Kathmandu instead….WHY? She has her motivations, perhaps justified, but Danny refuses to accept the rejection and decides to track her down, and go all the way to Kathmandu if he has to just to find her.

In OVERLAND, circumstances ultimately lead Danny to the discovery of his lost love. And it’s not Heather. How does he respond, and what does he do?
I invite each and every one of you reading this post, to find out how Danny reacts to such an event, something so random, so unexpected. You will be incredibly surprised and delighted to know ultimately what evolves into a love story for the ages!

Oh yes…if you have a story such as a discovered, reunited and evolving lost love found, and you’d like to declare, I think we would all want to know…comments are encouraged!