Navigating Life by the Stars – Not as Easy Anymore

The ancients depended upon the clarity of the night sky to guide their way.  They knew how to read the stars as the seasons changed and reliably arrive at their destination.  Even when making their way across the high seas from island to island with no landmarks in sight, they charted a path with precision.  Our modern lives have replaced these tried and tested ways with GPS, mapping applications, and a plethora of other tools.  For most, the ancient ways are more a novelty than a necessity.

If modern tools did not exist, navigating by the beacons in the sky would be nearly impossible in many places on our planet today.  The combination of light pollution and poor air quality has created an opaque filter on the sky.  Imagine if you thrust natives from 150 years near a major metropolitan area and challenged them to navigate a path through or around it.  The inability to view the beacons overhead would present them with a formidable task.  The stars are still there but shrouded by haze.  If we could only turn out the lights and clear the air, we would restore clarity and once again be able to chart the path forward.

There is a clear analogy to our personal journeys.  The noise in our lives has dimmed the beacons we need to chart our path.  We have polluted our minds with garbage and useless chatter.  The quality of our environment acts as a filter blocking the signposts that point the way ahead.  Like the bright city lights that drown out the night sky, we have crowded out the signals that could reliably guide our souls.   We are so busy that our mind's sky is lit up like Las Vegas at night.  With so much crowding into our thoughts, is it any wonder that we feel mired in a brown haze?

I remember growing up when you could look up and see the Milky Way as if you could hold it.  I was mesmerized on a trip to Fiji to see the Southern Cross.  As humans, we have always been drawn to the stars.  Even today, we still marvel at pictures from the Hubble telescope and wonder at the universes that lie beyond.  We can experience similar curiosity and excitement if we could clear the skies within our own minds.  When we push aside the junk that clouds our thoughts, we open a path to the soul.  In solitude we find connection with the universe within and find synergy with eternity.

Our roots as humans are to explore.  Despite all the modern technology and the ability to tour our world from the comfort of our homes, the journey within is one that relies on old ways.  Clear the air in your life, remove the noise that drowns out the view, and boldly chart a course to your authentic self.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting us all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

A Symphony of Cracks and Bubbles

I grew up in a small town in western Wyoming.  On a recent trip home to visit my parents, I took the opportunity to check out Fremont Lake.  Fremont is the largest lake in the area and every few years it freezes clear before snow blankets it.  This was one of those special years so I wanted to enjoy the phenomena.  Little did I know that a simple trip to the lake would have such a profound affect on my life.

As I approached the lake, I noticed several people hundreds of feet from shore enjoying the spectacle on their ice skates.  Standing at the edge of the lake, I marveled at clear ice as far as I could see.  It was astonishing.  When the lake freezes this way, it’s typically only a few days before a snowstorm rolls through and covers everything in a blanket of white.  It was almost eerie looking at the frozen sheet and wondering just how strong the ice was.  I went further around the lake and found myself in solitude.  No one around – blanketed in absolute quiet.  What happened next was nothing short of transformative.

Standing at the edge of the ice, I was struck by the absolute silence.  Without a breeze there were no interruptions from cars, planes, or people.  The bitter cold air and snow muffled every sound except for a periodic squawk from a raven somewhere in the distance.  I stood in the quiet losing track of time absorbed in the silence.  It was in that solitude that I heard it.  At first almost imperceptible, I noticed sounds coming from beneath the ice.  I could hear small bubbles struggling to find a path to the surface and crackling as tiny fissures strained within the ice.  I stayed for a long time listening carefully.  I was overwhelmed by the immensity of the moment. The lake was alive and singing its own symphony, even in its hibernation.  Had it not been so quiet, I would never have heard the song.  I found my spirit connected with the music.  And despite the bitter cold against my cheeks and hands, the silence was like a warm blanket around me – I could have remained there for hours.

The bubbles and cracks were nearly impossible to detect without the quiet that encapsulated them.  It reminded me of the vital importance of silence.  It occurred to me that without it, those bubbles and cracks would have gone unnoticed.  This insight led me to think about the bubbles and tiny cracks in my own life.  Am I quiet enough to hear the song within me looking for a path to the surface.  Later, I reflected on the importance of silence in being able to detect areas of stress in my life, just like the water beneath the ice was trying desperately to find a way to crack toward the surface.  Often, the stress is there, but I allow the roar of everyday life to drown out the warning signals until it’s often too late.

The beautiful sonnet played by the lake on that day will forever fill my heart.  It will act as a reminder that many songs in our lives can only be heard in silence.  While it may sound counter-intuitive, it really is in silence that we are able to hear the melody beneath the ice that’s straining to be heard.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting us all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

Companions on Life’s Journey

We don’t journey through life alone.  There are companions for even those who live monastic values.  For those who seek to climb to the higher places, the companions they select will largely determine how far they will be able to go.  Of the many options available, Determination and Discipline are by far two of the strongest guides.  Many however choose to select others who may appear less difficult to deal with. 

One of my all-time favorite books is Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.  The book is an allegory about a frightened goose whose heart’s desire is to journey to the High Places with the Chief Shepherd.  While the book parallels many of the teachings of the Gospels, it is equally insightful for anyone seeking to pursue life’s purpose.  Early in the book, Much Afraid (the goose) is provided with two guides who will accompany her on the journey.  The guides are tall and strong, but for Much Afraid, they are fearful and intimidating.  However, as she begins to climb, she finds their grasp essential yet bitter. 

As we set out on life’s journey, it is the companions that challenge us the most that we need.  The climb isn’t easy and to scale to heights beyond our reach requires guides that are strong.  Determination and Discipline are two such guides.  Both offer assistance in ways that guides like Peace, Joy, Love, or Happiness cannot.  When you stand at the bottom of a mountain with sheer cliffs overhead, it is Determination that can support you by pushing you forward or pulling you up.  When the journey becomes arduous and you weary from the work, it is Discipline that coaxes you on.  Like the companions selected for Much Afraid, both Determination and Discipline can be foreboding – they wouldn’t be the natural choice for most of us.  Yet without them, we lack the mental strength to journey on.

What companions have you selected for your journey and are they up to the task?  A decision to reach for the highest places in your life comes with a price.  If the trip were easy many more would be ahead of you.  That is why you can feel alone when you’re hanging on the side of a mountain.  Few choose the path unbroken by earlier visitors.  If you want to someday find yourself standing on the peak, then choose companions that have proven themselves to be stalwart in the midst of difficulty.  They will not let you fall.  As for Much Afraid, she learned later in her journey that the companions given her became her must trusted and loved friends.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,


And sorry I could not travel both


And be one traveler, long I stood


And looked down one as far as I could


To where it bent in the undergrowth;



Then took the other, as just as fair,


And having perhaps the better claim


Because it was grassy and wanted wear,


Though as for that the passing there


Had worn them really about the same,



And both that morning equally lay


In leaves no step had trodden black.


Oh, I marked the first for another day!


Yet knowing how way leads on to way


I doubted if I should ever come back.



I shall be telling this with a sigh


Somewhere ages and ages hence:


Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,


I took the one less traveled by,


And that has made all the difference.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting us all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com