I live with an amazing man who has an uncanny ability to sense direction. No matter where he is, he can determine his directionality with no apparent signs or clues. You have to understand that this is an inconceivable feat to me because I have absolutely no directionality whatsoever and even with all the signs in the world and a navigation system built into my car; I can still get very lost and flustered at the thought of going someplace new.
I believe he inherited this trait because his mother has it too and she doesn’t even drive a car (how is that even possible). It seems that spatial relations plays a big role in this aptitude (and that could be my downfall unto itself) but his gift is even more remarkable to me than you could imagine.
Although I understand that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, I have no clue as to how this applies when you’re driving a car. I marvel as he distinctly knows which way to go; even to the point of developing a new shortcut in the process.
All landmarks look the same to me. And so even though he explains, very methodically I might add, how to develop my supposedly innate skill of directionality, I cannot do it.
Maybe our style differences play an important role in this process. He is extremely calm and forthright in his approach to going places; I am looking all over at the exciting things I see along the way. He is focused and I am not. He is deliberate and I am casual. Maybe you believe that my personality is thwarting the process but it’s clearly more than that to me. I just can’t do it. I think I am actually missing the gene for directions in my makeup and he has an extra dose.
One of the aspects of life that I have come to believe is when you have someone in your life that undoubtedly does something better than you, let them do it! Now I would love to develop this skill but I think that will never happen quite to my and his satisfaction. Why struggle with tap dancing around it when you have Gene Kelly at your side to lead the way.
I would like to believe that I have many valuable gifts in life given to me by nature, nurture, and God above (in no special order). My best gift though is probably my ability to enjoy other people’s gifts equal to or better than my own.
Thank goodness that I can find my way to the computer each morning….
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