Is there a shortage of street names? Why does every town have a Broadway, a Central Avenue, and a Park Place? Then again, is it information-based?
What I mean is, did Broadway come about because it was the widest avenue, and was Central named because it’s the center of all the action? That would mean Park Place had the most parking – and that would be great, since it’s so hard to find parking!
Was Frost Lane full of ice, and Forest full of trees? Could you imagine how simple it could be to get places? You would just need to follow the description to get anywhere. There’d be no random twists. Unless, of course, the road was called Twisty Lane. You would just have to follow – the literally – the Red Road to an un-mowed area called Grassy Knoll Lane, down a Sandy Street named Beachwood Drive. Then you would turn onto Waterway. And you probably would be right where you want to be: at the shore.
But, no, things are not that simple. We’ve got routes and highways and byways and, of course, other cars driving every-which-way. Which makes it pretty complicated to go anywhere without guidance. And then, on top of that, there’s some random voice yelling at you to move over to the right lane, move over to the right lane, move over to the right lane! That’s even when you’ve decided to change your destination. Honestly, wasn’t it enough having your mate or a bunch of backseat drivers bossing you around?Now, you’ve got that random GPS voice. And even if you’ve set it up to sound like some polite British young man, it still irritates the ba-geezies out of you.
And then, of course, there’s the times you find yourself in completely unchartered territory, totally dependent, and the voice decides to give you the silent treatment! For that kind of behavior, you certainly don’t need a computer. If you’re looking for erratic behavior, just grab a teen. They are doing their job when they act that way, but with the GPS you want its dependability, not its unpredictability!
So, absent perfect street names to guide us and seeing how computers have human failings, is there a way to get anywhere stress-free? Only one way. The road may be rough but you control the direction. Put into your mental GPS ͞I want to get there stress free͟ and then whatever glitches come your way, stay focused on that destination. If you don’t and things change, that polite British voice may be insisting ͞wrong way, wrong way.͟ But if you keep your eyes on the prize you’ll be able to breathe calmly and stress-free as you ͞reach your destination.͟
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or [email protected]
