Guide for Directions


Image result for New york city street grid

When I was living in New York about 7 years ago I was on a personal development and get myself together adventure. It turned out to be one of the best times in my life. I grew tremendously and learned so much. One of the biggest things I learned is this....

"the distance between Avenues are longer, 
but you cannot get anywhere 
taking the short distances between the streets"

Manhattan is a grid system of streets. The avenues (generally) run north and south. The streets (generally) run east and west. It became my rule of thumb to get myself around the city. To walk from 4th Ave. to 5th Ave. was sometimes a longer walk than walking between 53rd St and 54th St. The length of the block was different depending on whether you were walking along the avenue or the street. 

When I came to this realization it dawned on me, sure I could walk 5th Ave. north and south all day long and get somewhere, but I would wind up seeing the same things over and over again. 

Sometimes, I needed to take a turn and go down a street to get to another avenue, even if it was going to take me longer. It is kind of like life, we can keep walking along the same path we have always walked, keep going in the direction we are going, but sometimes taking a detour gives us more views, more experiences, more opportunities, than just going in the straight line. IF we really want to get anywhere, sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zones and walk towards another avenue. 

Getting between the streets was easy, getting between the avenues took some time. But that time brought reflection. I knew I was going to eventually get to where I was going, it just might have taken a little longer. It is like our goals that we set for ourselves, our short term goals are walking along the avenue reaching our goals each time we come to a street. But if you really want to see the city, you're going to have to turn and walk towards another avenue... eventually. 

Keep it bright. Keep it positive. 

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