Gaining through loss

I'm interested in reading a book titled, "A Field Guide to Getting Lost," by Rebecca Solnit.  I was drawn in by a review I read which included some excerpts. My favorite was

Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing. There are objects and people that disappear from your sight or knowledge or possession; you lose a bracelet, a friend, the key. You still know where you are. Everything is familiar except that there is one item less, one missing element. Or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it.

 I think the difference between losing things and losing "yourself" is an interesting comparison to make. When you lose a thing, what you know falls away.  When you lose yourself, you are in moving into uncharted territory. 

It struck me since with my move to a new city and new job I feel in some ways I've both lost things and lost myself.  Everything is new--the people, the neighborhood, the sounds, the garbage collection day.  Being in a foreign place requires more energy, more confidence, more attention.  You are forced to deal with new and unfamiliar things every day. At the same time, those experiences, and now this move, allow you to find inner reserves you didn't know you had, skills and abilities you never had to exercise before.  This experience reminds me of my two extended stays abroad, as a college student and nearly 30 years later as an adult.  After both of those times I felt I was a different person than before.  I already feel that now.

Feeling lost helps you find things.