Traffic was so bad coming into Nashville this morning
that I was rerouted onto streets I have never traveled before, and I have been in Nashville 40 years, driving most of those.
Had it not been for my phone’s navigation system, I wouldn’t have known the best way around the
congestion and wrecks. And if I had lost my GPS signal deep within those unfamiliar side roads, I would have been slow to figure out how to get back to a main road I knew.
My full trust in GPS comes from frequent use
where most of the time (MOST of the time : ) it's right. And all my prior GPS experience gave me confidence to venture into the unknown route suggestions and navigate through areas that were foreign to me.
What are the
GPS equivalents for life that help us find our way, provided we follow the instructions accurately? How well do we trust those? Can we put our full confidence in them, because we use them enough to have faith in their directions, or are we often second-guessing our guidance?
It wouldn’t do much good if my internal GPS said to “do this” and I decided to go the opposite route because I didn’t fully trust it to be accurate. But sometimes that’s exactly what happens!
Or, even when I do trust the best course to take, there are times I still choose to go the “scenic route.” I find that certain roads have to be traveled a few times before I finally become willing to streamline my way to peace and joy, and avoid the pit stops.
How nice would it be if we could put in a life destination at eighteen years old like, “Be successful at work we love, have a great family, and a creative hobby that fulfills us?
GPS would likely come back with a few options, making it clear which one is the fastest route to where we want to go. But it would also show alternate options, in case we prefer a certain direction that isn’t necessarily the fastest.
Maybe one would include a special landmark, or something else of interest that we’d like to see on our journey. Perhaps GPS would offer a scenic route that would take twice and long, at twice the miles, but it would bypass things like heavy traffic and toll booths, or other things in life we may want to avoid.
Or maybe we decide we’re not in a hurry and a longer route is going to be more interesting and memorable?
Hmm… Even though initially the idea of having the ability to punch in criteria for a great life path and have GPS map that out for me in advance sounded optimal, as I flush this out and consider the choices described, I’m still not sure the best decision would be clear.
How would we know at eighteen years old (or twenty-eight, or sixty-eight) that the quickest way to a destination isn’t necessarily the best way for us, all things considered? Perhaps that’s why we weren’t given “life GPS” and we have to break our plans, objectives, and journeys down into much smaller chunks.
What simulates GPS in your life? For me it’s definitely prayer, meditation, and journaling. It’s also talking out my options with other people. I tend to externally process, which means I have to take my thoughts out of my head and look at them by putting them on paper, saying them to someone else (or
God), and then listening for wisdom and insight in the responses I receive.
However, some people get to their ideal solutions by going inward through reading for inspiration, or just getting quiet so they can think. Maybe
a combination works best. There isn’t a right or wrong approach, so long as we regularly make time to access our internal GPS in a way that works for us. And in a way we can grow to trust through repetitive use.
Knowing
our choice ways to problem solve and seek guidance will help ensure that wisdom and discernment fortify our road trips and remain active influencers of the directions we take. The more we use them, the more we can trust them to provide accuracy, even (especially) when entering into remote territory, where we have little else to rely on.
Today, think about how you have been guided best in the past. Know what works for you and then re-commit to making time for those practices several times a week, if not daily.
