Orienteering

One of the merit badges I most enjoyed earning was named Orienteering.  I liked the word, and I was thoroughly invested in the activities. Simply stated, you take a map and a compass and find your way from one point to another.  

Since those long ago days when I was a Boy Scout, the equipment has come a long way.  Now, when I go fishing or hiking, my GPS has a chip that indicates the elevation I am ascending or descending.  I still use the contour map reading skills from merit badge days. The difference is that I don't have to do much work to figure out where I am.  And, when I hop into my vehicle, I have a GPS that gives me both visual and audible directions to my chosen destination.  I don't get lost as much as I used to, and I don't have to stop and ask for directions! 

The GPS systems, particularly the auto one, are not fool-proof, but they are really good.  I love hearing it say, in the British voice I have chosen, "Take the roundabout and exit onto the motorway."  My favorite phrase, shared by all of the optional voices, is, "You have reached your destination."

Today, we are having Orientation on campus.  First year students and their families are getting more information than they can possibly absorb.  Academics, student life, housing, meal plans, books, social organizations, and yes, I even spend some time talking with them about their spiritual journey and opportunities to engage in service and social justice activism.  It must be overwhelming.  Most of the students look like they come here wanting a drink of water and we turn a firehose on them.  They are looking for a sense of direction to negotiate the way ahead.  We give them handouts, web resources, and our words of insight, wisdom and advice.  They will remember some of it, but most importantly, I hope they will remember the people they meet.  The people on this campus are the real GPSs that will help students find their way.

Scientist and philosopher Alfred Korzybski famously said, "The map is not the territory."  Students will soon find this to be true, as all of us do. 

The word orientation implies, for me, that I know where I am.  That is, I suppose, a good thing. Still, orienteering is far more interesting, because it implies that I am going somewhere.

These new students are now discovering where they are, but I can hardly wait until the new semester begins, because then I’ll get to watch them go somewhere.  And some will give me the high privilege of traveling with them into new territory of ideas and values and dreams and fears and hopes and commitments.

Orientation is a two-day event; orienteering is lifelong.  It's what we do best on campus:  considering and plotting the way ahead.  Even so, the map is not the territory.

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