There are map readers and there are star readers.
Plain and simple, I think we should focus on learning to read the stars.
I’ve met very few (if any) map readers who have ever found the X they were promised.
But almost everyone that follows their stars, lives a life they love and enjoys the adventure.
The trouble with treasure maps
Everyone loves the sound of a treasure map. The promise maps make are, “Follow this path exactly as it’s been recorded and you will get what you’re looking for.”
When you read a map:
You’re assuming that if you play by the rules and listen to the directions, then you’ll get what you’ve been promised.
You look for the next landmark, the next milestone, and should you never see it — or miss it — you’re lost.
The world becomes binary. “Is this the palm tree where I’m supposed to turn right? No? Then it’s insignificant.”
You give your agency away. We’re recreating someone else’s course and they said, “Walk straight for two days,” so we do.
You live in the future, “When I see the anchor, I’ll know it’s time to turn.”
You keep your head down, making sure that you’re reading the map properly.
The alternative, “Reading Stars” (is way harder)
Navigating in uncertain territory means learning to read the stars.
Early explorers were expert astronomers. They had to be.
Using the sun by day and the North Star by night, you can get anywhere you like. But that’s not all.
When you read the stars:
You keep your head up, making sure you’re seeing the world properly.
You must be acutely present, knowing that every step in any direction is safe, so long as you keep your bearings.
You see every opportunity and make decisions by trusting your intuition and skills.
You start with something and are open to anything. You say “If the Sun is behind me at dawn, I’m headed West. Let’s do this.” Then your eyes are open for whatever may appear.
Obstacles are not endpoints. Knowing how to navigate means you can surmount anything that stands in your way.
You have no one to defer ownership to.
Let’s learn to read the stars
Reading the stars means that we know “your True North.”
While True North varies person to person, you can call it either a code of ethics or a feeling of fulfillment that sets our navigation. With True North set as a feeling, a way of living, we can always focus on moving toward it.
The scary part (and the part that keeps most people from living this kind of life) is that when we leave behind the maps, the maps written by other people, we have no one else to blame.
Should things go wrong, we can no longer say, “But I followed the rules, I followed the map! I just got a bad deal…”
Learning to read the stars is scary but it’s worth it.
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