How Do We Manage?

[This image is being used under license from shutterstock.com]

The lot of the directionally challenged person is not easy!

On so many occasions I have lost my way, walking or driving in locations that are very familiar! One day, I was going to visit a friend who lived in Inverrary, not far from where I lived, in Lauderhill, Florida. I took a bus along Oakland Park Boulevard, and I know we were going east, because we were going in the direction from which the sun rises in the mornings.

I alighted from the bus at the appropriate stop and started walking in the direction of my friend's home. Mind, you, I had made this trip countless times before. I have to admit, though, that this time, my mind was almost completely taken up with some issues that I was dealing with. I'm sure that that had something to do with the fact that I completely overshot the entrance to my friend's street which was off Inverrary Boulevard, and when I looked up from a reverie, I had no idea where I was.

Now, note that in this area, as in many well planned housing developments, all the houses looked exactly the same, and what I would always rely on were trees and other objects or the actual numbers on the buildings or mail boxes, to know when I had arrived at my destination. On this particular occasion, when I looked around, I did not see the familiar ficus tree my friend grew in her front yard. I remember seeing some tall, brownish banana-like plants, and wondering, "Where on earth am I?" The street numbers did not help because the street I was on was totally unfamiliar.

Well, it took me a while to recall the various turns I had taken to get to that point, and my one recourse was to retrace my steps back to Inverrary Boulevard, because the more agitated  I became, the more the place appeared strange to me.

With some difficulty, I got back to Inverrary Boulevard, and was sorely tempted to just go back home. But I had promised my friend that I'd pay her a visit, so I started the trek again. This time I absolutely concentrated, and to my great relief I was able to make the appropriate turns, and arrived at the intended destination.

Have you ever had something like that happen to you? If you have, I'd love to hear about it. If you'd like to learn more about being directionally challenged, you can visit my website, at https://epatsygreenland.com.

Please join our Movement to make directional challenge recognizable to those who don't know it, so that together, we can implement policies that will make life easier for all concerned.

I need your help. I need your voice. I need your support. Won't you join me in this endeavor?

I hope you will. 

E.P.G.