Our family vacation a few summers ago placed us squarely in the beautiful state of Maine at Acadia National Park. Turns out that Acadia is the second most visited National Park in the U.S., after Yellowstone. We landed in Portland (Maine, not Oregon…story for another day) and rented a car on Turo, the app that connects a person in need of a car to a person who apparently has a spare one laying around. It’s cheaper than renting one at the airport, but with one caveat: the car you rent usually isn’t the nicest or newest. Which is fine by me… Vacations are expensive enough without having to have the flashiest vehicle to get from point A to point B. We just needed a vehicle, so we ended up with a 2017 Dodge Journey.
It fit the five of us just fine with one big annoyance to the driver (i.e. me). Apparently, in 2017 (which quite honestly wasn’t that long ago) no one had quite figured out the nice screens we have nowadays. Or, if they did back then, the Journey didn’t have one.
So, y’all know how we all plug in the destination on Google Car Play nowadays and watch as the screen in the center give us a detailed map and the lady shouts at tells you exactly where you’re going and when to turn? Yeah, that screen… Didn’t have one.
I’ve never made so many wrong turns in a 7-day period of my life.
Yes we had Google Maps on our phones, but we didn’t have the gadget that handily attaches it to the air vents. So, my loving wife combined with the pleasant voice of the Google Map Lady were patiently, yet boldly, yelling at telling me to turn here, merge there, and in 1,000 feet turn right. Problem is there were 16 places to turn right in what I judged to be 1,000 feet.
So, I thus made wrong turns. Daily.
My family squealed in glee each time! Not. I have borderline adult children, so their sarcasm and humor has a bit more bite to it.
My wrong turns combined with their sordid attempts to make fun of me were a tumultuous cocktail.
Turns out, that little screen in our cars… pretty big deal when driving in a place you don’t know much about. It made me appreciate the person or company that invented it. In fact, I think I’ll write them a letter of gratitude after I finish this essay.
Ever make a wrong turn? No, I don’t mean on vacation, I mean in life.
You felt that you had your future locked in and out of nowhere, another path presented itself.
Take it, maybe it could lead to a better place than the one you were planning on.
Don’t take it, and you’ll never discover what’s down the path a ways.
Twists, turns, crooked paths, jagged roads.
Life. Wrong turns.
They happen.
And when they inevitably do, it’s easy to get down, frustrated, uneasy. But you don’t have to get Below the Line. Ultimately, it comes down to your attitude.
Wrong turns can be learned from and corrected. You can reverse, back up, or even start over.
Wrong turns needn’t be permanent. They can simply serve as a reminder of what not to do next time.
Adjust your screen. Allow for wrong turns. Know they can be corrected.
Having the right attitude during the correction is the hard part.
Choose flexibility. Choose patience. Choose to be okay with it.
Life happens.
Your reaction to these events can either make or break you.
Stay Above the Line. And live on purpose today.
