Lost in the Jungle, Open to Magic
A funny little misadventure, a not-so-spiritual awakening, and the power of shifting your energy
You know those moments when you’re running late and totally stressed, only to drive past an accident on the road and think… wait, if I had left on time, that could have been me?
It’s like the universe giving you a tiny nudge, saying, You’re not off track. You’re actually right on time.
That’s what I told myself the other day when I got dropped off in the wrong location in the middle of the jungle. Twice.
I was heading to my favorite café — a place I’ve been to so many times, I could find it with my eyes closed (and probably have, pre-coffee). But for whatever reason, the taxi (Grab) app glitched, the map was off, and I ended up in a completely wrong spot. Not once. But twice.
And not just wrong like, “Oh, silly me, I’m on the wrong street.” I mean wrong like, I’m in the middle of the jungle and I have absolutely no idea where to go nor is google maps working wrong.
It was hot. I was sweating. And for a moment, I could feel myself slipping into that familiar frustration spiral — you know the one. The “this is stupid / I’m over it / why is this happening to me” kind of energy.
But then I caught myself.
And decided to play a little game instead.
What if this wasn’t a mistake?
What if there was a reason I got dropped off at this random spot in the middle of the jungle today?
What if — I don’t know — I was about to meet someone on this path who would become an important part of my life like maybe my future husband??
(Spoiler: I met no one!)
But the moment I shifted into that mindset, my energy shifted too. I stopped feeling annoyed and started feeling… curious. Like something good could happen at any moment. And that tiny shift made the whole situation feel lighter, even kind of fun.
And actually, if there had been a man on that path who could’ve been my future husband — but I hadn’t yet shifted my energy and was still grumpy and scowling — he definitely wouldn’t have tried to talk to me.
Funny to think about it that way, but it’s true.
I play this mental game a lot. Not because I think every detour is some grand spiritual lesson. Some things in life are just hard and make no sense. But sometimes — when you look back — you can see how one seemingly small event led to everything else.
Like, if I hadn’t gotten laid off and gone through a breakup years ago, I never would have booked that trip to Bali. And if I’d booked it just a few weeks earlier, I wouldn’t have met my daughter’s dad. And if I hadn’t met him, I wouldn’t have Destiny. And we wouldn’t be living this life here in Bali.
It’s wild how so much can hinge on such small moments.
So no, I didn’t meet my soulmate in the jungle that day. But maybe that wasn’t the point.
Maybe the point was remembering that how we show up matters — even when we’re lost.
Maybe the point was letting myself be surprised.
Maybe the point was noticing how much better life feels when we stop assuming it’s working against us, and start believing it might be working for us.
Even when we’re covered in sweat and five minutes away from messaging someone, “Hey… I think I’m lost in the jungle somewhere?”
