COLUMN: It's Just a Country State of Mind: You are here!

I have always found it amusing while traveling to stop at a rest stop and see one of those big maps on the wall that has an arrow pointing to a little dot on the map with a caption above it that reads: "You are here." I suppose that if someone is lost, it can lend a certain semblance of comfort to know they are "found" again at that precise little dot on the map on the wall.

But where is "here?" It is one of many said rest stops that one can find scattered along the side of life's highways. To the tired, weary traveler, the rest stop is an oasis amid endless miles of asphalt. It's a refuge from the raging storms and harsh elements that one encounters while on the road on their journey called life.

The travelers are on different missions, but they will all eventually arrive at a common destination. Some will arrive faster than others. Some will travel by different modes. Some will travel with companions, while others will know loneliness, or even prefer the journey made in solitude. Some will take joy in their journey, letting the beautiful scenery that they encounter inspire them. But they will all continue on to their journey's end. And many will stop at the rest stops that they find along the way.

In my life's travels, I have often had to stop at a rest stop. I'd like to think of a rest stop as kind of a "pause in the moment." Sometimes I have needed one of those pauses in my life to find my bearings or to make sure I am going in the right direction. There have been times that the rest stop has afforded me the opportunity to remember, think about where I am, and to see how far I have come.

Other times, I would just need to stop and rest. I would often find that after I rested for a bit, I would be refreshed and able to go on for a few more miles. And sometimes that map on the wall was all the assurance I needed to know that I was okay. It made me feel a sense of comfort to know that someone had traveled that way before me, and knew the way, and had left directions for me to follow in case I was lost.

The rest stop can be different things for different people.

Perhaps you have found your rest in an evening sunset while traveling to a far away, distant land. Or maybe you have found one in the quiet meditation at the end of a long, exhausting day before closing your eyes to sleep. Or perhaps you have found one while listening to the soulful refrains of an old favorite song.

As for me, I have found my rest stops in many places over the years. I have found them in the familiar voice of a friend who's been a frequent visitor during my travels. I have found them on a cold, quiet, snowy day, blanketed in the silent white winter. I have found them written on the pages of a Hemingway novel while lying in a hammock under the shade of a big old maple tree on a hot summer's day.

The important thing is, I have learned to recognize those rest stops that I see along the way in my daily travels. And I stop at one every chance I get because I never know when the next one might come along.

So, if you ever find yourself lost along a highway while traveling on your journey through life, stop at the next rest stop you see. There you will find a map on the wall that has an arrow pointing to a little dot on the map with the caption above it that reads: "You are here!"

Happy travels,

Susan