You travel with the hope that something unexpected will happen.

The words of Andrew Bird — “You travel with the hope that something unexpected will happen. It has to do with enjoying being lost and figuring it out and the satisfaction. I always get a little disappointed when I know too well where I’m going, or when I’ve lived in a place so long that there’s no chance I could possibly get lost.” — capture the essence of the pilgrim spirit that has stirred within mankind since the dawn of time. They speak not only of journeys across lands, but of the journeys within the soul. For what is travel if not an act of surrender to mystery, a willingness to embrace uncertainty, and a faith that discovery arises from wandering beyond the familiar?

To be lost, in the ancient sense, was not always to be defeated. It was to be humbled before the vastness of the world, to admit that one does not command every path, nor control every turn. The unexpected, when welcomed, becomes the true teacher of the road. For when we lose the certainty of our maps, we gain the clarity of our senses; when we are stripped of familiar signs, we learn to trust our inner compass. Bird’s longing is not for the security of knowing, but for the exhilaration of unfolding mystery.

History gives us noble examples of this truth. Recall the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who set sail westward with no sure chart, driven by the conviction that something awaited beyond the horizon. Though he erred in his assumptions, though his journey was fraught with peril, it was precisely in being lost that he stumbled upon new worlds. Many great discoveries, both geographical and spiritual, have arisen not from certainty but from wandering into the unknown. Though men may glorify their destination, it is the journey of uncertainty that refines the traveler’s soul.

Yet Bird’s words do not speak only of exploration on grand scales. They whisper of the everyday: the city street where you take a wrong turn and find a hidden garden; the mountain path where you lose the trail but stumble upon a view more beautiful than any guidebook promised. There is a sacred satisfaction in this — not the satisfaction of control, but of revelation. To know exactly where one is going is to walk asleep; to be surprised is to awaken. Thus, when Bird laments the over-familiar, he mourns not merely boredom, but the loss of wonder itself.

The lesson is profound: the soul does not thrive on certainty alone. Just as a body grows strong by facing resistance, so the spirit grows alive by embracing the unexpected. If you live always in the familiar, you starve your imagination. If you walk only where every stone is known, you cease to grow. The wise therefore seek moments of disorientation, for in them lies the chance to rediscover themselves. The discomfort of being lost becomes the doorway to joy, to resilience, to deeper vision.

Let us draw the teaching for future generations: cultivate a spirit that delights in mystery. When you travel, do not cling too tightly to itineraries and schedules. Leave space for the accidental, the unforeseen, the detour that leads you to beauty unimagined. And in the larger journey of life, do not fear the times when you feel unmoored, uncertain, adrift. These are the seasons when your truest discoveries are waiting, when the soul grows strong in the art of “figuring it out.”

Practically, let each listener act with intention: take new routes, wander in unfamiliar places, allow yourself to step into situations where the outcome is not certain. Read books from cultures unlike your own, befriend those who speak with different tongues, embrace the disquiet of being stretched beyond habit. And when you feel lost, do not curse it — breathe, look, listen. Know that life itself is guiding you to the hidden treasures that can only be found by those willing to wander.

Thus Andrew Bird’s words shine with ancient wisdom: travel is not about reaching destinations, but about the transformation that comes through surprise. To be lost is not to fail; it is to be found in new ways. The road is never richer than when it is uncertain, and the heart never fuller than when it meets the unexpected with courage and joy. For in the end, it is not the map we remember, but the moments of wonder along the way.