OK, so the inference is lame but I hope that I will be able to connect the dots for you.
'Life-caching' is a take-off on 'life-coaching', which you may be familiar with. In life-coaching, you hire a person to help you with your life. Sounds simple, I guess. I've never been life-coached but I know someone who is a life coach. As I understand the process, a life coach helps remove the cobwebs from a person's life, brain, home, relationship(s), etc. Presumably, when one is finished with the life-coaching process, your life-path will be clearer and less cluttered.
This weekend, I geocached for the first time. Geocaching is an environmental sport/activity/game where you use a GPS (global positioning system) to find an exact spot whose lat/long coordinates have been identified and some vessel and/or artifact has been hidden in that exact spot. With a GPS, exact is not an exact science but accurate to within five to ten feet, depending on the sensitivity of the unit a person is using.
Geocache sites must be officially registered and maintained by the person or persons who establish the site. Each geocache site is listed online and identified by its lat/long position, as well as a description and some basic, but cryptic clues. Geocaching is highly organized and has a formal structure surrounding its every detail. All in all, I was very impressed with the procedures and guidelines set up by whatever organization promotes geocaching.
We geocached two days in a row and as I was participating, I came to the conclusion that geocaching was a metaphor for life, hence the title of today's post - 'Life-Caching". When one geocaches, you have to follow instructions, play well with others, cooperate with others, and share with others. In order to meet your goal, you must travel paths you have not previously traveled, you must have clear vision, you must see the forest for the trees, think globally, look through your own 'wide-angle lens', persevere, think creatively, and watch for unusual landmarks toward the end of your journey as thinking outside of the box is necessary to find the prize.
Is that not a metaphor for the way we move through our life stages? For moi, after geocaching, I might have had a few cobwebs on my body and clothing, but there were many fewer cobwebs in my brain. My body soaked up the sun and fresh air infused energy into my lungs and psyche. The picnic lunches that I ate out-of-doors were ordinary but never tasted better and the company I was keeping made me feel as if I was a kid again!
'Life-Caching' is an inexpensive way to find your zen and get exercise at the same time. It doesn't get any better than that!
Ancora imparo
