Some things that might be found in a “Lost and Found” box:
a single glove,
an umbrella,
a book.
Much of what’s “found” and deposited in the box is forgotten, never reclaimed by its original owner.
You look in the box for what you’ve “Lost.” You put into the box something you’ve “Found”—something that’s not yours.
“Lost” doesn’t only apply to things. It’s also true of parts of us—pieces we lose along the journey from childhood to “being grown-up.”
Have you left behind:
unbridled passion
inquisitiveness
childlike joy
Have you forgotten your sense of:
humor
adventure
fearlessness
Have you put away the desire to:
try new things
live in the moment
make a difference
Have you given up your belief in:
the absolute grace of you
the goodness of others
God
Have you abandoned:
the courage to speak your own mind
the willingness to take chances
the idea that you’re worth being loved
Have you “lost”:
your voice
your passion
your truth
Often, what’s lost is replaced by what we “find” throughout journeys of living and hurting and failing and giving up. But what we put into our lives sometimes marginalizes rather than elevates.
Have you perfected:
worry
anger
resentment
Have you accepted:
feeling less-than
the status quo
being mistreated
Have you settled for living in:
disappointment
sadness
the past
Have you “found”:
judgment
fear
self-loathing
Many of the things “found” along the way are man-made. They don’t belong to us; we choose them. Sometimes we leave this world never “finding” what we’ve “lost.” We’re afraid of going back to what we really need because we don’t remember how to be that way.
You look in the box for what you’ve “Lost.” You put into the box something you’ve “Found”—something that’s not yours.
Sometimes, we get to a point where we don’t look for what we’ve lost and choose to hold onto what we’ve “found.” It feels safer; it becomes our truth.
What have you “found” that’s not serving you? What have you “lost” that you can reclaim?
If nothing in your current life elicits joy, go back in time and see if you can remember when you were happy. Write those memories down. If possible (knowing that reality is different due to COVID-19), resurrect them. Give yourself the gift of remembering who you’ve been and reclaim your birthright as a person of joy.
Toward the end of my Mom’s life, my daughter, Sara, took her grocery shopping. (She couldn’t do it herself but didn’t want to miss out on the excursion!) One day, Mom, Sara, and my granddaughter, Lauren, were headed home when a torrential downpour hit. Sara parked in front of Mom’s house, got her up on the porch, then handed her the baby carrier with Lauren in it. The rain was pouring down, and Mom, standing there with childlike innocence, burst into laugher. She laughed through the pain of her body. She laughed at the absurdity of being taken care of by her first grandchild. And, she laughed because of the gift of holding her great-grandchild in the pouring rain. In that space in time, Mom reclaimed joy.
You are worth finding what you’ve lost.
It is never too late.
Blog: peacefullhome.com
Twitter:@kaymclane
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©peace full home.com®/intentional living, 2013-2020
peace full home®—intentional living 
There are a lot of individual messages within this heading of “lost and found”. We tend to think of objects, not character traits, which we lose or find during life. Thank you for this perspective.
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When I ask people about their pasts—what’s no longer in their lives or what’s been added, the answers are often very interesting. It’s heartbreaking when we carry “found things” that don’t serve us and lose sight of amazing experiences or parts of us that had/have value.
Thank you for writing, Betsy.
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