‘Turn around when possible!’ came the instruction from the satnav. I switched it off.
I’m making a road trip in New Zealand. I’ve bought a van which I can sleep in. And I’m on the road.
Satellite navigation is an amazing technology. I have a device which can tell me where I am anywhere on the surface of the planet, with an accuracy of a few metres. It also has road maps for most countries of the world loaded into it. It’s very difficult to get lost with this satnav to hand.
However, there are times when I want to get lost. This morning, for example, I find myself lured onto a scenic, peaceful, back road. I don’t know where it will take me. It doesn’t matter. Birds are singing – some familiar to me, others exotic. The sun is shining on rolling hills, meadows and woods. In this moment, there is nothing amiss. Not a single iota is out of place.
And I am not out of place either. I don’t know what place I am at, nor where I am headed. This much I know though: I am not out of place.
So, satnav, I won’t be turning around when possible.
