The North Star can help guide us. It is there whether we look at it or not. What’s interesting about the wobble is that it causes our North Star to change.

This is just a giant metaphor for our value systems. I’m a proponent of the idea that it doesn’t matter a ton what your philosophy of life is. The important thing is having one. Once you have one, you can change it.

My values can and do change. But, they tend to change like a Great Year. One Great Year is 25,772 regular years. Values aren’t set in stone. They fluctuate much less than my regular activities, like choosing one restaurant or another to eat at. For example, routines come and go. Locations change, but values may remain. Occasionally, a cataclysm may shake up the values.

What’s a meta for anyway? I prefer concrete!

My 3 main values are:

I have articulated them, written them down, spoken them out loud, and know what they mean to me. What they mean to you isn’t important. The important part is that I know what they are, and know where I am relative to them.

Anytime I feel lost, stuck, or confused, I can revert back to my values. You can do the same. Another way to frame it is to “think with your heart.” We have 3 brains. Ok, not quite. What I mean is that we have neurons in our brains, our hearts, and in our guts. That is why we have language like “listen to your heart” or “go with your gut”. The brain is also a polarity based organ.

This explains why at times I’ll have a voice playing devil’s advocate on one shoulder, and angel’s advocate on the other. I’m just bouncing between the polarities. It’s very heady. Notice how that it even is a bit confusing to read.

The heart is simpler. When the brain and heart are working harmoniously, that is called coherence.

Think of this coherence state as your north star. In basketball, they say, “ball don’t lie.” 🏀 When we are in a state of coherence, the heart doesn’t lie. It’s a way of calibrating our thinking and balancing it with our feeling. Usually, going purely from one or the other fails me. I might pick something that I “think” is right, but feel bad about it. This is what happens when I eat junk food. I think, “just this once,” or, “it’s no biggie.” If I do something only because it “feels” right, sometimes I’m overcome by emotions. Lashing out in anger is one example. Just taking a few deep breaths leads to a totally different situation.

I’m trying to say this in a sciency way that also makes intuitive sense. The special moments happen when my head and my heart are aligned, in the moments of coherence.

As always, thank you for reading. Tomorrow’s story is Everyone Is Our Mirror.

Warmly,

Drew