Reading Life's Map

I suddenly noticed that while I had put up pics of my trip to Ireland last year, I had no images of Australia on this blog. I have remedied that with some shots taken on my travels around this awe-inspiring continent.

I still have the map I came here with in 1987. It’s a little fragile along the folds but I still mark on it every new road I travel. I have to confess to having a great love of maps and the skill of map reading. Unlike the ubiquitous satnav (advertised here as a great present for mother’s day– cos hey what woman of child-bearing age knows how to locate a grid reference?!), a map helps us to position ourselves in the bigger picture. It allows us to see beyond the quickest route and choose a more ambient journey or perhaps get side-tracked to experience something new.

The satnav encourages unquestioning acceptance of instructions, even when it is obviously wrong, and emphasises the importance of destination rather than the journey. A map, in contrast, helps us to zoom out a little and place things in context, and life in so many ways is about context. For instance the contextual framework of any communication is imperative in order to glean meaning. Our personal story, our cultural understanding and soul history all help define the prism through which we act, react and make our choices to heal and grow. If we cannot see how we got to where we are in this moment, how can we be sure of the direction in which we are heading? If we hand over responsibility to something or someone who does not know or indeed care anything about us can we be surprised when things go wrong? Oh yeah sure we can always blame the satnav/boss/system when we find ourselves continually hitting dead-ends, going round in circles or parked precariously on a precipice, but deep down we know there was another voice we ignored. The one urging us to “Stop, get your bearings”; Slow down and read the signs”; “Proceed with Caution – there might be a better way”.

Apologies for the pile-up of driving analogies!