My biggest wish
is to be immersed
in the light of stars
standing on top of mountains
seeing heaven touch earth
listening to the breeze
rustling through
an ancient forest
being immersed in the ocean
drifting with the grace
of manta rays
my greatest wish
is to feel again
Tjen Art - Torso Series III: I - Sea - Stars 2017
If you are a wanderer, you may be quite comfortable to go where life’s events push you. If you don't know where you are going, a map isn't going to help you anyway. But some wanderers, like me, appreciate direction to avoid going round in circles too much. Hence a kind of marker that gives a stable reference and a direction is a desirable ingredient for my journey. This raises an important question: how to define your life’s marker?
Defining your marker too close will cause you to be guided by the issues of the day, with a tactical eye instead of a strategic view on life. You may find that you spend a lot of time and energy selecting each next marker without much consistency as undoubtedly current issues are likely to push you in different directions all the time.
The risk of aiming too low is that you may achieve exactly that. Some may say that aiming too high may leave you disappointed. However, upon reflection, between not achieving your high target and achieving your low target, which is the one that leaves you disappointed the most? A high target not met, will most likely have brought you further than a low target met. Moreover, the journey will create more excitement and result in a greater sense of accomplishment.
Nevertheless, many experience fear for failure or perceived failure. Hence I suggest defining a North Star in your life as opposed to setting a big target.
Sailors throughout the ages knew that they could set course on the North Star. However, they never did so in anticipation of actually ending up there. The North Star is for direction, not a destination and herein lies a crucial distinction.
Therefore your life’s marker should be defined as a North Star, your guiding beacon rather than a target. May its light guide you on your course and that it shine more brightly for you than all the other lights, lest you are distracted from where you are headed.
Tjen Art - Torso Series III: I - Sea - Stars (detail) 2017