{"id":1752,"date":"2012-01-11T09:06:24","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T17:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2012-01-11T09:06:24","modified_gmt":"2012-01-11T17:06:24","slug":"guidance-and-the-gps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/01\/11\/guidance-and-the-gps\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidance and the GPS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n

If I get off track, can I find my way back?
\nYes, but back is not where I’m going.<\/p>\n

Okay, but will the wrong road get me there?
\nNo, but by it you I can still find the right one.<\/p>\n

I learned these things again lately in England. Anne and I were there traveling around. Sometimes around and around and around\u2014if you know anything about those round-abouts. Happily we had the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System), an ingenious devise of our times to keep us from ever getting lost again. In England it’s called a Sat Nav, for Satellite Navigator. And being in England, the automated voice was one with a delightful English accent. We came to refer to it has \u201cher\u201d and considered her our friend, and sometimes savior.<\/p>\n

Once, on that first experience we selected \u201cmost direct route\u201d thinking that made more sense than, say, \u201cfastest route.\u201d Following the map on the little screen and the pleasant woman’s voice, we found ourselves on a hedge-lined \u201croad\u201d about the width of a driveway to a single car garage. And it was a two-lane road! Actually, parts of England are full of these but we didn’t know it yet. Having no choice anyway, we went along for the adventure of it all and were delighted, and even surprised, when in time we were emptied out onto wide streets of the town we were seeking. That’s when the little device really earned our trust.<\/p>\n

Earlier, however, we were on another road and encountered repair work, preventing forward progress. We turned back. The lady in the box kept coaxing us to turn around at the earliest convenience. We protested, but she was adamant, so we turned the device off and started asking directions. That’s when the adventure really increased. People didn’t recognize the name of the place we were looking for (or maybe us, with our American accent); one would suggest one thing and another another. Finally, just to try it again, we turned the GPS back on and started receiving directions again. We followed them, albeit sometimes over wagon paths and through deep shady hollows. We eventually came out to light of day, and, WOW, our destination!<\/p>\n

I was slowly beginning to realize that this guidance from the sky knew things I didn’t know. By our first programming it in, it knew where we were trying to go, where we were, and had various options to get us there. And if we got confused, took a wrong turn, and couldn’t retrace our steps, it knew how to direct us, even now from this new starting place.<\/p>\n

It’s something I’ve learned more than once, and I suppose will keep learning. I get off on the wrong road, make less-than-wise decisions, even lose track of where I was going. But the damage isn’t permanent. It may not even be damage. My route may be slower, but it may be more scenic. It may be frustrating, but it may contain more learning.<\/p>\n

I have a GPS wherever I go. And I don’t even carry a unit. Of course I substitute the first initial for a different \u201cG\u201d word.<\/p>\n

The guidance comes from the sky.<\/p>\n

It knows where I’m going.<\/p>\n

And it has a way\u2014various ways\u2014to get me there.<\/p>\n

All I have to do is trust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_________<\/p>\n

Next: Gobbledygook and e-mail\u00a0disclaimers, coming Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n

PS Haven\u2019t subscribed? You can do so with a quick click in the right column and never miss.<\/em><\/p>\n

And feel free to share with a friend.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I get off track, can I find my way back? Will the wrong road get me there? Is there a GPS beyond the GPS?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions\/1788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}