As I drove through the city, making turn after turn, working my way to my destination, I had a thought, a thought that I have quite often… how in the world would I have gotten here without GPS? All I had to do is punch in the address, hit a button, and viola… a map appears with the exact directions. And not only does it give me turn-by-turn instructions, but it tells me the exact distance I will be driving, how far I will be driving before each turn, how much time it will take to get there, and provides the exact time I can expect to arrive. If there is construction or traffic, it alerts me, and will reroute me to ensure I arrive in the shortest time possible. Again, how would I have gotten there without GPS? How did we get anywhere before we had this technology?
Despite the fact that we can’t fathom how we got from one place to another without GPS, we did. We found our way. We used paper maps, we got verbal instructions from someone who had been there before, we wrote down step by step directions by hand, we were given landmarks to look for, and we usually had a plan before leaving. Whatever it took, we did it. We managed to get from one place to another.
We forget how resourceful we are as humans. It’s hard for us to imagine life without the luxuries, technologies, and advancements we have today. It’s easy to think we’d perish without all of the advancements we rely on daily, but we wouldn’t. We’d do just fine. How do I know? Because we’ve done it forever.
While we can’t imagine life without cell phones, GPS, or the internet, our ancestors survived without cell phone, GPS, or the internet… oh, and without running water, refrigerators, or hospitals. They hunted for and gathered the food they needed, made all their own clothes, built their own structures, and had babies without doctors. They moved camp regularly, battled with neighboring tribes, and lost loved ones regularly to illness, injury, and starvation.
The cool thing is… here we are. As a species, we have not only survived, but thrived. We have been tough, resilient, creative, and persistent. Humans have always figured out a way. We did what we had to do, with what we had to do it with. As hard as it is to imagine how our ancestors lived with so little, and through such tough times, they did it.
We like to tell our kids how hard we had it. I’m sure mine are sick of me starting sentences with, “When I was a kid...” We want them to know how tough we had it, and how much easier they have it. Our parents did it to us, their parents did it to them, and my guess is every generation has enlightened the next on how much harder it was back in their day.
Yesterday, as I was wondering how I would have gotten to my destination without GPS, I reminded myself that I would have figured it out. We always did. We got where we needed to go. I find myself feeling a bit pathetic sometimes, almost weak, being so reliant on today’s luxuries, but yesterday I was able to feel a dose of pride, remembering that I used to do it–that I could do it if I had to.
And if I was alive 10,000 years ago, I would have survived then too. I would have learned how to hunt, would have been taught how to navigate the land, and would have managed without a refrigerator or a car.
I enjoy life’s simple pleasures, take advantage of the new tech, and appreciate how much easier life is now than it once was, but I like to think about how that toughness that helped humans endure all these years is inborn, engrained, and wired in me. I am proud to know that even with the ease by which we get to live today, it’s that resilience, creativity, and persistence that helps me push through, persevere, and overcome the things I think are difficult these days.
We may not be able to fathom how our ancestors managed to live without the luxuries and advantages we have today, but they did. They did because they had to, and they did because they could. You’ll do what you have to do because you have to… and because you can!
