It is written in the stars
Finding meaning in this beautiful, fleeting life.
Look at the line of stars; that's the Orion's Belt. And diagonally upward, slightly to the left, there's a red-orange star. Can you see it? Yes, that's my star.
I've told this to a few people that I secretly wanted to impress. But I said that as much for myself, wanting to associate with a star. I wanted to be part of the cosmos, and this is how I do it.
It's been a while since I did stargazing, one of the most awe-inspiring activities. Finding a place dark enough to view them is getting harder in our urbanized world.
I would travel far for it. I would scale a mountain for it.
I once carried my sleeping bag out into the freezing open atop Drakensberg Mountain. I curled inside, with sharp rocks poking my back through the down feathers, my dilated pupils staring without blinking at the Milky Way that spanned across my dark horizon like a rainbow.
At that time, I was one with the universe. The chill ate its way into the core of my bones; my heart expanded in equal measure outward with warmth.
The stars have always filled me with wonder. Learning that we are made of stardust deepens it, reminding me we are all connected—you, me, and the infinite universe.
This thought never fails to remind me how small my problems are, how insignificant my ego is, and yet how eternal we have always been.
As you read this, you find yourself in the current form you thought you only knew. But you have come from everywhere in countless forms, and after this, you will disperse as such.
Yet, in this one fleeting and improbable life of ours, we can live in alignment with our current unique self and ultimately become what we want to be—our deepest desire.
Desire derives from the Latin for “without a star.” This makes me think of something missing in us—we long for it, we search for it, and then we strive towards it—our North Star1.
It is by wanting that we orient ourselves in the world, by finding and following our private North Star that we walk the path of becoming. - Octavia Butler via The Marginalian.
We must determine our guiding star to walk the path of becoming. On becoming who we want to be. Who we can ultimately be.
However, finding our star is usually not a straightforward path.
Looking back, I had wandered in the dark for a long time. When I started earning my keep, the quest to gain a lot of money consumed my life, burning along the way many important things in my life.
Thanks to a series of life-changing events, I quit my job and started traveling extensively. By following my heart, I emerged from the darkness. Along that path, I discovered conscious living, which cemented who I am today.
Yet, as much as travel brought me freedom, serendipity, and spontaneity—a significant part of my life—I sometimes felt like a boat adrift in the sea, carried by the waves of fate and chances.
What anchors us in a life so fleeting? How do we find meaning in this one short existence—smaller than a speck of dust, a mere blip in time?
“What can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself?” - Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Finally, it was the grounding to earth, the looking inward, finding my values, and the connection to the people around me that gave me weight. The boat rocked less, steadied against the push and pull of tides and waves.
Life may feel like being lost at sea or adrift even when grounded, but sailing towards our North Star transforms this rehearsal of life into something real and meaningful.
“What makes the desert beautiful…is that somewhere it hides a well.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince.
Somewhere along our journey lies our deepest desire—our becoming—waiting to be uncovered. And that, perhaps, is what makes life so beautiful.
Share your thoughts
What is your North Star? How did you discover it, or are you still searching?
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The celestial North Star, known as Polaris, appears almost directly above the Earth’s rotational axis. As the Earth turns, every other star seems to spin around, but the North Star appears to stand still. [1] For centuries, it has guided travelers in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern Cross is the southern counterpart.
I love stargazing too. In April 2000 I went travelling to Fiji with my now husband then boyfriend and that was my first encounter with them with no light pollution. We were on a tiny island called Waya, which had no roads, a few houses and the hostel where we were staying. The first night there we lay on the beach for hours staring at the sky. I’ve never forgotten how beautiful and awe inspiring it was.
Hmmm. You've curated some great quotes to go with your thoughtful reflection. I'd say my "North Star" moment was one of those "where are my glasses?" situations where what I was looking for was already part of me, like looking for your glasses perched on your head. But just because you have that moment/s, it feels like that's when the real work begins!