The final state of Crusoe’s plantation and the island can be reconciled to what Crusoe has learned about religion and value during his stay on the island. Some of the lessons Crusoe learns are the wisdom of his father in admonishing Crusoe to be content with the “middle State”, the importance of trade to the value of a product, the sinfulness of wastefulness, and the acknowledgement of God’s providence and design for all things on earth. Crusoe applies these lessons learned on the island after his return to Europe.

The first of these lessons Crusoe learns, which his father tried to teach him, is the security and contentment that comes from being in the middle state of life. Crusoe’s father insists that this state is the “most suited to human happiness” in that people neither have the “labour and sufferings” of the lower class, nor the “pride, luxury, ambition, and envy” of the upper classes (Defoe 5). This station of life, his father tells him, is not “subjected to so many Distempers and Uneasiness either of Body or Mind” as the lower and upper classes are prone to suffer from (Defoe 5).

Crusoe discovers this admonition to be true when he is stranded on the island and must engage in hard, physical labor in order to survive and provide him with the items that he needs and wants. As his father warned him, Crusoe falls gravely ill as a result of his extreme physical exertions, and his “spirits began to sink under the burthen of a strong Distemper” (Defoe 66).

After Crusoe returns to Europe, he is confronted with the opposite end of the scale when he learns the riches of his plantation. Even though Crusoe has not participated directly in increasing the value and production of the plantation, he still reaps the rewards issuing from it. This sudden wealth, which necessarily puts great responsibility onto Crusoe, causes him to “turn pale and [grow] sick” (Defoe 205). Thus, Crusoe recognizes the wisdom of his father’s advice, which after leaving the island, he is content to live in that middle state for many years.

On the island, Crusoe learns that trade is vital to establishing the value of a product, e.g. gold and silver. When Crusoe finds the gold and silver on the ship, he realizes that it has no use for him upon the island, because he cannot use it to trade the money for something he does have use for. His first inclination is to let the gold and silver sink to the bottom of the ocean, but on second thought, he does take it with him. But since Crusoe cannot trade the money, it lies “in a drawer” and grows “mouldy with the damp of the cave” (Defoe 95).

After Crusoe leaves the island and returns to Europe, he begins converting the value of all his goods into gold, silver, and “bills of exchange” (Defoe 207). Likewise, Crusoe decides to liquidate his plantation in Brazil because he has doubts about Catholicism being the appropriate religion for himself. He sells it to the children of his trustees, who “fully understand the value of it” (Defoe 218). Thus does Crusoe realize that products have no value until trade is involved.

Another lesson Crusoe learns on the island is the sinfulness of wastefulness. He realizes that the island offers abundant opportunities for food, fuel, etc. But Crusoe begins to see that :all the good things of this earth are no farther good to us than they are for our own use” (Defoe 94). Therefore, if Crusoe kills more than he can eat, or plants more than he can store for later consumption, or cuts more trees than he can find use for, they will all just go to waste, as he cannot use them in time before they spoil or rot away.

When Crusoe learns the state of his Brazilian plantation, he does not know at first what to do with his sudden riches. But remembering the lesson that wastefulness is sinfulness, he immediately turns philanthropist. Crusoe cancels the debt that the old Captain owes him, and furthermore settles an annuity on him for a “100 moidores” and “50 moidores a year” upon the Captain’s son (Defoe 206). Likewise, Crusoe sends a hundred pounds apiece to his sisters, and to the widow of Crusoe’s first benefactor, with a promise of more money to come.

Crusoe also bestows 500 moidores on the monastery in Brazil and 372 moidores to be used to benefit the poor, “as the Prior should direct” (Defoe 207). It’s very important to note that Crusoe does not send any money or presents to the trustees of his plantation because they “were far above having any occasion of it” (Defoe 207).

Since now Crusoe has more money than he has immediate use for, he distributes much on his family, friends, and religious institutions. After his return to England, he adopts two of his nephews and provides a home for them, setting them up in employment when they come of age. In this manner, Crusoe turns much of his wealth to benefit others who have need of it.

In the same way, Crusoe applies the lesson he learned while on the island about God’s providence for all living things upon his return to civilization. Crusoe reconciles himself to the knowledge that God put him on the island, but comes to see that the banishment is not so much a punishment as it is a blessing, since Crusoe could have perished with the rest of the ship’s crew. Crusoe comes to the conclusion that God put him on the island because he “rejected the voice of providence” that had designed Crusoe for the middle state of life where he could have been “happy and easy” (Crusoe 67).

When Crusoe leaves the island, he ensures that it remains inhabited by the mutineers and the shipwrecked Spaniards. In regards to the island, Crusoe takes on a role much like God, in that he provides the men with arms, tools, seed, and instructions on how to survive and prosper on the island. Later, Crusoe returns to check their progress and bring them more goods to help them on the island. Crusoe also brings them a carpenter and a smith, who could have been of great use to Crusoe when he was on the island. Crusoe sails to Brazil after engaging the men “not to leave the place” (Defoe 220). From Brazil, he sends more supplies to the island and women to marry the men. Crusoe’s obvious purpose here is to populate and improve the island according to God’s admonition to Adam and Eve to be productive and multiply.

Crusoe did learn valuable lessons on the island and he did change his attitudes. He became more religious, which is evident in his unwillingness to return to Brazil; before confessing himself a papist did not bother him, but later, when he was more religious, he could not submit to Catholicism. Crusoe also learned the value of hard work, and strove to make conditions easier for the men left on the island. These lessons he learned were not forgotten as soon as he stepped on the ship to sail away from his solitary existence on the island.

Middle stance – often called the horse stance or horse riding stance – is one of the easiest stances to learn and practice. However, because the body is well-balanced front left to right and front to back in this stance, it actually is not a good stance for blocking attacks or countering attacks with strikes or kicks of your own. It doesn’t take much of an attack to send you off-balance; similarly, without being able to shift your weight, you can’t add weight to a strike or kick.

However, the horse stance does help a martial artist help find their center of balance as well as help develop good strength and stamina. For this reason, many martial artists and teachers encourage students to study the middle stance and then have them hold it for increasingly longer and longer times.

Start your middle stance by placing your feet one and a half to two shoulder widths apart, with your feet pointing forwards. (Turning your toes outwards changes your center of balance and shifts the muscles strain from the big thigh muscles to the inner thigh muscles which are not as strong.) You need to keep your hips centered evenly between your legs so that you are well balanced; you don’t want to lean to the left or right. Bend your knees slightly (imagine that you are riding a horse), but don’t let your knees go too far forward over your feet. Your butt should stick out slightly behind you – your shoulders should be evenly positioned your hips and your head centered over your shoulders. Take care not to stick your head out in front of you: this will make you off-balanced as well as giving your opponents and enemies and easier target.

Make both of your hands into fists (remember to keep your thumbs in front of your other fingers, not under them or alongside your fists), and bring them into high reaction force (close to your armpits, palms facing upwards.) In our style of Taekwondo, we deliver strikes in straight lines, so the hands are held closer to the upper part of the body, rather than at the hip position as in other martial arts.

To build strength and stamina, take a middle stance, then lower yourself slightly, bending your knees a little deeper, while being sure you are still well-centered. If you feel yourself falling forward or backward, push yourself back up a little: good balance is the focus of this stance. Try to hold the stance for at least one minute, then evenly (using both leg muscles at the same time) tighten your hamstrings and glutes to push yourself back into a standing position. Rest for at least one minute before repeating the exercise.

When you are comfortable with the stance and can hold it for at least one minute, change the practice by practicing punches. Start by targeting with your left hand at an imaginary target at waist height. (If you are not certain where that is, stand in front of the mirror, and draw an imaginary line from the knot of your belt to the mirror. Aim for the mirror image of the knot. DO NOT PUNCH THE MIRROR!) Execute a right punch at the target point while pulling the targeting hand back to the reaction force position. Once your right hand has reached the imaginary target position, it will serve as the target for a left punch. Continue punching left, then right, executing each punch carefully and slowly. (This is a good chance to practice your punching technique as well. We’ll review basic punches in an upcoming article.)

Take care not to swing your hips and shoulders while you are throwing the punches; the purpose of this practice is to increase your muscle’s strength and endurance; swinging your hips and shoulders will shift your weight and change your foot position, which detracts from the work that your legs are doing.

As your legs get used to the effort of holding the position, you can sink a little lower into the stance. Unlike many schools, however, we don’t teach taking the horse stance too low. Because the body is well centered in this stance, it takes energy and time to move from a deep horse stance into another position, and when you are sparring or defending yourself, you don’t want to waste time or energy in shifting your weight back and forth so you can throw a block or execute a kick. Movement from any stance should be fluid and controlled. Practicing extremely deep middle stances can also be difficult on your knees.

A second middle stance drill you can practice is “Touch Together”. Take a good middle stance, then contract the muscles of your right leg and move it to the left until it reaches your left leg. Touch your feet together (your knees should be slightly bent when then touch), then move your right foot back to the starting position. Repeat the same motion using your left leg. Repeat for at least one minute. Be sure not to use your foot to push yourself up, but to contract the muscles instead; your shoulders need to stay level as you leg moves. Practicing in front of a mirror will help you see if your shoulders are going up and down when you move.

As you get better with the “Touch Together”, you can modify the movement which will prepare you for executing a side kick. Start in a middle stance, then look to your left; contract the muscles of your right leg, lift it slightly from the ground, and move it to your left foot – but as your right foot moves toward the left, turn it so that the heel of your right foot is close to the center of your left foot, and your toes are turned away. When you place your foot down, your two feet will be in a letter “T” shape. Make sure your knees are still slightly bent, then look back to the center and return to your starting position. Repeat by looking to the right and moving the left foot into the “T” shape. (Practicing looking in the direction of your kick will help you with balance when you execute the kick! Make it a habit now, and your kicks will be stronger and more accurate later.)

This stance works your leg muscles hard, so do remember to warm up before practicing and to stretch those muscles after your practice session. Remember: practicing a little every day will yield better results than practicing a lot once in a while!

Back in the summer of 2007, if you ever asked me to go out for a walk with the kids, my answer would have been, let’s stay inside because I did not want to sweat. Fast-forward to today I have completed my 4thMarathon this past January 2011. Again, I must have watched Tony Horton and the P90X infomercial hundreds of times, and now my wife and I are halfway done! I am so astonished with the results we are seeing, and I smile when I look over to see my wife sweating and keeping up with the workout. She might encourage me to get lower or say, “Bring it!”

We are in the middle of Phase 2 routine that begins with Weeks 5 through 7. The program begins with Day 1-Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, and Ab Ripper X Day 2-Plyometrics, Day 3-Back & Biceps, and Ab Ripper X, Day 4-Yoga X, Day 5-Legs & Back, and Ab Ripper X Day 6-Kempo X, Day 7-Rest or we like to do X Stretch.

Of course you can start Day 1 on any day, you just need to determine which day you want to have off, and for Irene and I, Monday seems to be the busiest of the week with work and kids stuff.

Some of you might have put in a less than impressive effort or you were still learning the moves. For others, some may have fallen ill to the flu this season. Like most people you might be just plain busy. You might be asking, is it alright to extend a phase. You can most definitely extend a phase, however phase extension should be no longer than 6 weeks because you will see better results with you change things up on a regular basis. Remember Muscle Confusion is where you will see the results.

Overall, I am still getting stronger, adding a little heavier dumbbells or reps in each program. In fact I was able to do a few pull ups without a chair. After a 6 weeks of repeating the moves. I am mastering how to do the moves which has helped us complete each section with limited pauses. Basically I am doing my best and forgetting the rest!

Then on to Week 8 for Recovery and Ab Focus, where focus will be on the midsection as if Ab Ripper X wasn’t enough. After, 53 days into P90X you should be comfortable with the exercises and will be ready to hit the rest of the program in the next phase.

Week 8’s routine begins with Day 1-Yoga X; Day 2-Core Synergistics; Day 3- Kempo X; Day 4-X Stretch; Day 5-Core Synergistics; Day 6-Yoga X; Day 7-Rest of X Stretch

The nutrition in this Phase is called Energy Booster adding more Carbohydrates to provide enough energy based on the workouts. Included in the meals are now oatmeal, bagels, muffins, waffles and pancakes. Just remember, everything is modifiable, and remember the nutrition is a key component of the program.

In June of 1998 Captain Bob joined friends on their boat for a trip to the Florida Middle Grounds. As many of you know this is an area approximately 100 miles from the west coast of Florida. It is, arguably, one of the most prolific marine habitats near Florida. The 37′ Trojan was provisioned and loaded for a 3 day dive trip. We had a crew of five: John, the boat’s Captain; Sally, his wife; Ben, Trudy and myself.

We shoved off at about 1800 and our bearing was 240° from John’s Pass. The big orange ball disappearing in front of us was stunning. Out about 5 miles we set the autopilot, established our watch shifts and settled in to life on board.

We arrived at our first dive site at 0900. We anchored and broke out the breakfast. We were all eager to get wet and quickly established dive teams the dive order. I was in the last team. I had forgotten how spectacular the Middle Grounds are. The size of the fish, the number of fish and the height of the ledge was overwhelming. I new this dive was for acclimation. I would knock ’em dead the next dive.

On ascending from my second dive I had a decompression obligation of 2 minutes. During the stop I thought about modifying my techniques to ensure more fish on the next dive. When I got to the dive platform I noticed my friends moving around the salon and aft deck. As soon as I surfaced Sally began yelling at me: “Get on the boat, we’re sinking.” Now why would I want to board a sinking boat? I heeded her orders and stripped dive gear. I moved to help bail. I didn’t believe this was happening. There was water up to the stern deck plates and still rising.

We removed all the deck plates for access to try to determine the source of the leak all to no avail. By this time another private boat had arrived and was standing by to assist. John had contacted a charter fishing boat who, in turn, radioed the Coast Guard. Remember VHF transmission and reception is line of sight. The Coast Guard was en-route. Meanwhile, the charter boat moved in closer to pass over a hand pump. Ben, Trudy and I pumped and bailed (5 gallon buckets) barely staying even with the flow. Sally and John readied an abandon ship bag and pumped up the life raft on the fore deck. A crew member from the charter boat even swam over to help find the leak. Thank God for calm seas! After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the thumping sound of a helicopter. I now have a deep appreciation for that sound.

The Coast Guard radioed instructions on their procedures for dropping gas powered pumps. They emphasized that the prop wash would blow over anything not stowed or tied down. John, Ben and the charter crew member were on the aft deck, Sally was in the life raft holding it down and Trudy was in the salon. I moved forward to stay out of the way of the pumps. As the helicopter moved closer, I heard Sally screaming for help. I got forward and found that she was pinned to the bow rail by the life raft. The first pump was set-up and the second pump was on its way. I took about 15 minutes for both pumps to drain the water.

We found the source of the leak. The generator had been removed prior to the trip and overboard port plug had dislodged. To compound this, the forward bilge pump was jammed with a piece of wire tie and the aft pump had shorted out. Mechanically, water seeped into the transmission and block. With hole plugged and the water pumped out and no propulsion, we arranged for a tow from a commercial fisherman. It would be three hours until he arrived.

We can’t go anywhere; we’re still anchored to a great ledge. Let’s do another dive!!!

You can find this site in the most GPS coordinates. I’m sure there are still fish there.

Is Fair Trade Coffee Beneficial to Farmers?

Have you ever experienced being underpaid for your product or services rendered? You knew what the right or fair price should be but could not negotiate for a higher price for fear that the buyer would go somewhere else and you really needed the money. Well, a lot of people went through this type of manipulation one point or another in their lives. Thus the minimum wage law was born. Now, anyone who experienced this kind of injustice can report it to a Labor and Employment Department in their country.

Same with the coffee bean industry. In the late 1980’s, there was no price regulation set up yet. On average, farmers were only paid $0.60 per pound of raw coffee beans. They were spending way higher in growing coffee than what they end up selling it for. This resulted to most if not all small farmers to be on or below the poverty line. They were doing all the work but were not fairly compensated for it.

Since there was also no regulation on the supply, coffee flooded the market but the demand was not the high. There was just too much supply available in the market. As a result, the prices in the world market for coffee dropped significantly. Finally, in 1988 in Netherlands, the Fair Trade certification began.

Now you might ask, what is fair trade coffee? To put it simply, fair trade coffee is directly buying from farmers their prized coffee beans for a standard or minimum rate of $1.26 for every pound of raw coffee beans bought. In other words, by eliminating the middlemen (or coffee traders as they are sometimes called), the coffee farmers and buyers ultimately get more profit. Buyers purchase it as a cheaper price and farmer get paid higher for their product.

There are a lot of fair trade certified products worldwide, fair trade coffee being just one of them. Some advantages of fair trade are promoting a healthier working environment and better economic incentive for coffee growers or farmers. However, coffee producers that grow fair trade coffee are obliged to be a member of cooperative composed of other coffee farmers in the area. Not only do farmers enjoy a basic price for the coffee but they also get a premium for each pound if the market price is higher than the standard rate.

Equal exchange coffee as it is sometimes called also has other advantages being given credit they badly needed to sustain their farms and if the farmers wanted to switch to organic farming, they were given adequate technical assistance.

Lastly, it benefits farmers and buyers in regards to price and continuous supply of coffee raw beans. So every time a cup of fair trade coffee makes you feel good, remember that farmers who laboured in producing it are also smiling because of it.

Different women have different tastes with respect to dating. Some like to go for men who are in similar age group. But now-a-days, many prefer middle aged men to go on date with. There are various reasons for it. Learn the secrets of how to attract middle aged men.

Be Confident

Middle aged men are attracted to confident women. These men enter into a relationship with loads of self assurance. This is because by their age, they have already been in lots of dates and relationships and know exactly what they are looking for in their woman.

It has been found that they are generally looking for women who are full of confidence and have loads of attitude. They steer clear of the clinging kind of women. Don’t be afraid of who or what you are. If you are a little overweight, you need not go into an excuse mode of not getting enough time for exercise. Love and enjoy being you. You will see that the man too, will love you back. This is a vital tip to attract middle aged men.

Allow Him To Lead

When you are looking to get the interest of middle aged men take care of this important point. Let them take the lead and set the pace of the things to happen in your relationship. It does not reflect on your capability. It is just that they are from a time when there was a different set of values.

Learn to let him do certain activities like opening the door for you or pulling back your chair while out to a restaurant. Never go in for confrontation.

Give Him A Treat

If you are attracting middle aged men, he would always like to have a chivalrous attitude. He would insist on paying for everything when both of you are on an outing. There is no problem in it. But sometime you too, should give him a treat like buying some gift. It will get him attracted towards you as he will feel appreciated and will take great pleasure in your thoughtfulness.

Keeping Check On Public Display Of Affection

He may not be comfortable in holding hands or be affectionate in public, so do not have confrontation on this issue. Most middle aged men are private persons. They do not have inclination to show fondness publicly. But be rest assured, they can be quite demonstrative in private.

Have A Life of Your Own

Middle aged men are not self centered. They are settled in their life and career. They don’t want you to hang on to them all the time. Mature men will be attracted to you if you have your own life apart from them. This way you will be able to make a lot of positive contribution in your relationship.

Sex is different than Relationship

When you are going after middle aged men, keep this in mind that. In a middle aged man’s life companionship takes higher priority than sex. He would always prefer to talking, sharing his experiences and generally relaxing with his woman rather than going to bed for sex after a day’s work. Be warm, attentive to his needs and you will make him eat out of your hands.

Middle school for most students is the period when students change from being kids to being adults. This is the time when their body changes physically and people around them start communicating with them in a different way. If middle school students don’t have the right knowledge about their situation and they don’t have readiness to deal with it, this period can be a period of confusion.

There are many ways to deal with relationship situations, which are:

• Speak to someone who can understand what you feel: speaking about what you feel to someone who can understand your feelings is a good way to support yourself having better relationships in middle school. You should do this on a regular basis which will make you familiar with your relationship problems to come out with solutions. Those who don’t speak about what they feel by hiding their feelings have more relationship problems than those who talk about their feelings, especially in the middle school period.
• Join a group that can understand you: a group can be a Facebook group that has members who have similar problems to you that can listen to you and feel what you are feeling. So that you feel that you are not alone, someone in the group may give you suggestions for your problems so that you try them in your life and return with the results. This will more likely be a good support for relationships problems.
• Ask for help to take new actions than your old ones: taking new actions in different situations is the ultimate goal that will help you with your relations. You don’t need to focus on changing your thoughts, how you feel and what your peers do but to focus on taking new actions in different situations and you can do so by asking for help from others about how you can take actions in different situations. This can take time and outer circumstances won’t change overnight. A rule of thumb is to ask for help on what actions you should take in different situations so that you can live a better middle school life. This is when you should take suggestions from people around you so that you can live a better life.

Building healthy relationships in middle school can come gradually and all what you have to focus on is to take actions built on someone who is successful in his relations.

Middle school learners are qualitatively different than younger learners. Teachers and parents can significantly enhance the learning of students this age by understanding the cognitive and social characteristics of middle school learners. Using the right instructional strategies to maximize the learning advantages and address the learning challenges of middle school learners can make all the difference in their success.

Middle School Cognitive Development

By ages 12, 13, and 14, most students have begun developing the ability to understand symbolic ideas and abstract concepts. According to Piaget’s classifications, students will range in development from the concrete operational stage of development to the ability to the formal operational stage. In fact, studies show that brain growth slows down during these years, so cognitive skills of learners may expand at a slower rate; however, refinement of these skills can certainly be reinforced. Generally speaking, most students share the following characteristics:

1. Curious and willing to learn things they consider useful

2. Enjoy solving “real-life” problems

3. Focused on themselves and how they are perceived by their peers

4. Resists adult authority and asserts independence

5. Beginning to think critically

Middle School Social Development

Most middle schoolers experience conflicting values due to their changing roles within their family structure and the increasing influence of peers. Generally speaking, most students share the following characteristics:

1. Need to feel part of a peer group, consisting of boys and girls, and are influenced by peer pressure and conformity to their group

2. Prefer active over passive learning activities that involve working with their peers

3. Need frequent physical activity and movement

4. Need adult support, guidance, and calm direction

Middle School Instructional Strategies

Middle school students are very concerned about the labeling that takes place, when one is identified as a remedial reader. Labels and stereotypes are both externally imposed (by other students and, sometimes their parents) and internally imposed (by the students themselves). Lack of reading ability causes more self-defeating damage to students’ self-esteem as students grow older and the academic gap between themselves and good readers widens. Middle school teachers need to be extremely mindful of student self-perceptions and those of their peers. A few talking points may be helpful:

“All students need help in some areas.”

“This class is not for dumb students; it’s for students who just missed out on some reading skills.”

“Unfortunately, some of your past reading instruction was poor; it’s not your fault that you have some skills to work on.” a.k.a. “blame someone else”

“You will learn in this class. If you come to class willing to try everyday, you will significantly improve your reading, I promise.”

“You will be able to chart your own progress and see what you are learning in this class.”

“You aren’t in this class forever. As soon as you master your missing skills, you are out.”

Stop Unknown Prank Phone Calls in the Middle of the Night:

When your phone rings in the middle of the night it can scare you right out of your sleep. You may instantly jump to the wrong conclusion and frantically run to your phone expecting that there has been a horrible family emergency. This can get your heart pounding and have you shaking as you answer the phone. Imagine your surprise when you answer the phone to hear nothing but heavy breathing or laughter and a hang up on the other end of the line.

These middle of the night prank calls are no fun and you will want to do what you can to put an end to them. That’s why you will be glad to learn that you can do a reverse cell phone lookup right on your computer. The search results from the reverse cell phone lookup will provide you with all of the information that you need to put a stop to those middle of the night prank calls.

The next time that you are awakened from your sleep by a prank caller, you will want to make sure that you take that phone number to your computer the next day and have a reverse cell phone lookup performed on it. This will give you all the information on the caller that you need to turn it over to the authorities.

A reverse phone lookup is great resource to identify phone numbers so you can obtain the caller or caller’s parents name and address and put an end to annoying and harassing prank phone calls in the middle of the night. By using this service you will be able to take the power away from the caller and show them that they can’t get away with harassing you and your family.

Getting lost. It’s probably one of mankind’s oldest phobias. We associate being lost with danger, abandonment and helplessness. They even named a TV show after it.

Modern technology has greatly reduced the chances of getting lost, or at least STAYING that way very long. Yet it’s still a common form of driving phobia. Some people will absolutely not drive through unfamiliar territory, especially at night. Like agoraphobia, the fear of getting lost can feel like being metaphorically chained to your comfort zone.

Getting truly lost in a car on a road in the 21st century is pretty unlikely. The problem isn’t so much getting lost, it’s your REACTION to it. Use the 7 tips in this article to help short-circuit a panic attack if you do get lost. It’s actually easier than you think.

Here Are 7 Ideas to Help You Stay Calm if You Get Lost While Driving

1. Take a moment: Remember that old Monty Python song, “Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s revolving… ?” Stop for a moment. Remember you’re standing on a planet that’s been photographed, scanned, and catalogued for decades. You may not know where you are, but the chances are high that finding out quickly is within your grasp.
2. Use your phone’s GPS: The next obvious step is to use the GPS tracking in your cell phone to figure out where you are. You should have some kind of mapping application you can consult. Your “map app” will immediately pinpoint your location.
3. Use a map: Don’t have a cell phone? Check the glove box for an old-style paper map. It’s less important to figure out exactly where you are than to feel in control of the situation. Just know that you will soon be back on familiar ground.
4. Take charge: Imagine that you’re a grown up who’s found a lost child. What would you do to get him or her back to their mommy? What if you were that child? Who would you call?
5. Call for backup: If you’re really freaking out, call someone you trust and talk with them for a bit. Ask them if they know the area and if they can point you in the right direction. Even if they don’t know, just hearing a familiar voice can help calm you down.
6. Back-track your trail: Another option when you don’t know where you are is simply turn around and go back the way you came. Drive back along your trail until you see something you recognize
7. Ask for help: Unless you’re doing some serious off-roading, there are probably people somewhere around. Asking for directions when you’re lost is still a perfectly OK thing to do!

No one enjoys getting lost while driving, but it’s really nothing to be afraid of. It happens to the best of us, even with all our modern whiz gadgets. Being lost isn’t really your enemy; your FEAR of being lost is the real problem. You’re probably holding the tools to get yourself unlost in your hands right now.