I was driving the other day and my GPS had a brain fart. It just suddenly refused to tell me where to turn. I had no idea where I was going without it, so I pulled over, re-booted, and tried again. GPS gave me an “alternative route.” I have no idea why or what had happened, but it was so out of the ordinary that it stuck with me for the rest of the day.
I found myself a little down this week. I’m ready to go on my road trip (or so I thought) and the world just isn’t cooperating. Or maybe it is and I’m not paying attention. I kept thinking back to my GPS issue, and realized that the “alternate route” prevented me from heading into a major traffic jam that would have held me up for an hour or more. Perhaps my GPS was working just fine after all, and maybe it’s time for me to pay attention to “alternate routes” on my journey.
The big holdup is selling my building. I can’t leave until the building is sold. I thought (hoped, planned) that this would all happen by September and I could head to Wisconsin to visit friends in the early fall. Nice weather, a good distance to travel for my maiden voyage. I could go, stay a few weeks, and that would be a good initial test drive without being too far from home (Yes, I still keep thinking of Delaware as “home” even though I realize it really won’t be anymore once I buy the van). I could go to Wisconsin, and then head back to Delaware to see my mom before getting on the road for the winter. But there are no offers on the property as of yet. Even if someone makes a great offer today and I accept, I anticipate 60 days at a minimum before the sale is finalized and I get my van and head out. That puts me at the end of October at the very earliest. Not a good time to head to Wisconsin. And if I don’t take off until November, that means heading south for the winter as I don’t want to be in freezing weather and have my tanks or pipes freeze up on me. I don’t really have a plan and I’m not sure I can actually get one until I know when the building will be sold. Where I go will depend on when I sell the building and what season it is. So maybe it’s time to re-boot and hope to get an “alternative route.”
The idea of this journey, of starting this next segment of my life came from a spiritual spark when I was in Peru. I was so tuned into nature, to Mother Earth and felt the pull to go explore. I’ve spent the last year trying to work out the details of retirement, of purchasing my van, and going to explore, and perhaps in being so focused on the details I’ve missed the big picture. I think being closer to nature means I need to listen more closely to Pacha Mama, to the call of the wild and especially to the timing of it all. The journey may not work out in MY time frame, but I believe that all things work out in end.
Perhaps my GPS lesson is telling me that there are other ways to get where I want to be, and to trust that it will all unfold in the perfect time, space and sequence. I’m listening.