The Path to “True North”

I sit on our deck, release the clutter from my mind, and listen reverently to the sound of the wind whispering through the stately Ponderosa Pines that surround our cabin. It is the most amazingly soothing sound and speaks to my soul similarly to the way the crashing ocean surf transcends me to a deeper place within where I find my true self. The constant invisible hushing sound lulls me into serenity as the wind blows through thousands of pine needles, diminishing the other sounds of the forest. It brings comfort, joy, and simplicity to my days. I have found my “home” here in the Arizona mountains and I savor the life that it has created where I am free to be “me”. After all these years, I am certain that I have finally found my “True North”.

What exactly does “True North” mean? It’s the new trendy phrase, complete with books, seminars, writings, and quotes all pointing to a meaning that is really pretty simple. It’s that compass inside you that tells you, without any shred of doubt, that you are at that point that you are living the authentic life you want to live. That you are where you want to “be”.

How many of us have lived a good portion of our life not fulfilling our vision of the dreams that we once had laid out in front of us. For some, it might have been our relationship. For some it might have been self image. For others it might have been our profession or career. Or maybe where we wanted to live. All of these pieces of our life contribute to our authenticity and finding the path to our “True North”.

The pressures and confines of not being true to your “self” stifles your joy, your self expression, and your ability to be the person that you are meant to be. Your internal compass questions what you are doing. It nudges you to figure it out. It nags you when you are off course. It gets mad and stops working and spins confusingly as it tries to keep up with the wrong paths that you are taking.

Your “Moral Compass” – that spirit in your soul that tells you when you are doing something that is not true to your values and beliefs, desperately speaks to your conscience and shouts “what are you doing??” Get back on track. Be honorable to your self. And figure out how to live up to the worthiness of the life you were given. It gently and determinedly guides you back on track and joyfully shouts words of acclamation when you find that pointer heading North. “You’re there!” “Thank you!”

We are all meant to find our True North at some point in our lives. It would be so simple if it were earlier rather than later, but it is a path that you have to make for yourself and at your own pace. One that you have to search inwardly for and honestly ask the questions that only you can answer. Your life is only yours and there is but one life that we are given. We ALL take the wrong path at some point in our life but it is up to you to find your way “home”.

My “True North” finds me most of the time at the compass coordinates of 34° 28′ 26.2956” N, 112° 25′ 43.6584” W, at “home” in the pines with the man I love and my dog.

But my internal compass finds me …….

…. living a “simpler” life.
…. taking the time to do the things I love to do.
…. exercising every day.
…. listening to and practicing my spirituality.
…. loving my relationship with my husband and my family.
…. loving my life.
…. being “me”.

Moonflower Blooms has been a pathway for me in defining my “True North”. It confirms my desire to write. It pushes me to search inside my soul to describe and write the words that I feel. It gives me great personal satisfaction to be creative again. And it reminds me that my path started over 60 years ago and everything that is part of my past has led me to finding my “True North” today.

This discovery, in and of itself, is a Moonflower Bloom moment.

Simply yours,
K