I often get asked, when I meet up with regular readers, how I find all the great rabbit holes to go down. That got me thinking.

My North Star, for me, is a guiderail in life that nudges me towards being the person I want to be. I have more than one star.

As you can see by the tagline under my signature, “For Those with a Curious Spirit,” curiosity is one of my North Stars. It reminds me to be curious every day.

So, as I quickly scan the headlines, pull quotes, and sidebars in newspapers and magazines, I will come across some that give me pause, usually because I don’t know anything about the tease. I remember my North Star and give the article a read. I’m rarely disappointed.

An example of this was when I was strolling through YouTube videos, wasting a bit of my precious time. It explained the electronics in the professional hockey puck. I never knew it was anything more than a rubber disk. Boy, was I mistaken. So down the rabbit hole I went to reveal the technology for my readers.

I’m not as socialable a person as I’d like to be. I have to consciously make small talk with strangers, despite amazing conversations I’ve had with them in one-time interactions. I was recently sitting beside an older adult like myself at the recreation centre. Changing from inside garb to outerwear can be done outside the locker room setting. I initiated a conversation with a “How about those Oilers Hockey Team. Have you watched any of the games?” That’s all it took. We covered sports, growing older, politics, a few jokes, the best bakery in town, and where the cheapest gas was. We finished our conversation about 30 minutes later and went our separate ways.

Having re-read the above paragraph, I think another Blog title I could use for a post might be “The Value of Strangers.”

Another North Star is a quick “no,” as in “Can you help us out?” When I respond too quickly, but more politely than just a “no,” my North Star kicks in. I didn’t have time even to consider a ‘maybe’ or a ‘yes.’  I promised myself when I was Movin’ On from paid employment that I would join any Boards or Committees. About six months into my retirement, I was asked to help out a local non-profit organization, an important task that would require intensive work for at least 6 months.

“Sorry, no thanks.” Fortunately, we continued to talk, and I knew I had the skills and experience to get them through the task successfully. “Yes, I’ll do it.” I had just joined a committee, but I was the only one in this group. The outcome was very satisfactory. It then has a twisted story that ultimately led me to write a weekly blog for the St. Albert’s 50+ Activity Centre.  

So, I have several North Stars that guide me to be the person I want to be. I guess it really is a North Star Constellation.

Please give this a bit of a think. Do you have the equivalent of a North Star Constellation? How have they helped shape you?

I am curious about your thoughts. Please comment by sending me an email with your bit of a think.

Photo by Dana Andreea Gheorghe on Unsplash

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glenn.walmsley@icloud.com