“She’s my compass,” my client exclaimed, “my go-to source to navigate pretty much everything!” My client was talking about her newfound Stowe friend who has been incredibly helpful since her relocation from NYC. You would think NYC would prepare you for anything, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t prepare you for a small town. My client’s compass, come to find out, has helped quite a few people. It is what she does. Not for a living necessarily. It is simply who she is. She is a connector and she is following her guide, the one that tells her to help others.

We aren’t all guided to be connectors but that is a good thing. We aren’t all introverts either, which is a really good thing. When my client called this friend her ‘compass’ it gave me pause to consider my compass. We don’t all have a friend we can call on to lead the way, but we do all have a personal compass, one that leads our way. It is our intuition, our Muse, our gut, our Soul, our Spirit, and when we follow it, good things happen. Not just for us but for our world.

Most of our days are spent in routines. We wake up, eat, get the kids to school (and/or walk the dog), work, eat, maybe exercise, pick up the kids, (and/or walk the dog) schlep, eat and go to bed. Day in, day out. Sound about right? Really? Is that what life is? Is that why we are here? Daily, mind-numbing habits we give zero thought to? I don’t think so and I don’t think you do either. There are psychological reasons we have our habits. The human condition uses habits to make things as easy as possible, to be on auto-pilot, for security, so we can tackle the things that truly need our attention, like an emergency. So it’s easy not to shake things up, in fact, it is human nature.

So what if you threw some adventure into your day? What if you took a little detour? What if you stop in a bookstore and just look in one of your favorite sections for inspiration during your lunch break? What if you try a different coffee shop? What happens when you go on Etsy and search for something you have never searched for, like a piece of art or jewelry? Or maybe you even Google the nearest pottery studio and just check out their drop-in hours? What if you took that next step to volunteer your time or talent? What if? What if? What if? What is your muse saying to you and why aren’t you listening?

I know why. You are busy. You don’t have enough time. You are living life. The life the responsible adult in you is supposed to be living. We all do this. I have a friend whose parents live in Canada. During the whole pandemic, she was unable to see them. But now, she can. They are in their 90s, living on their own. She visits for at least a week at a time and helps them with the cooking, cleaning, and appointments. She wonders, is this my purpose? I assure her, yes for now it is. Is she using her talents? Of course, she is, maybe not the way she wants to, but life doesn’t always present us with the perfect opportunities, even though personally I would consider this a pretty perfect opportunity. She can use all of her other gifts and talents when she isn’t with her parents. For now, though, she is following her compass. Not because she is supposed to, because she wants to.

And ah, there is the difference. Because she wants to. When you follow your wants, you are following your compass. I’m sure we can all argue there are days we don’t want to take care of the kids, walk the dog, go to work, or exercise, or for that matter take care of our parents, but we are grown-ups and have signed up for grown-up responsibilities. But that doesn’t mean these grown-up responsibilities have to always stifle the Muse. Contrary to what we want to believe, there may not be tomorrow. How do you want to spend your ‘today’? The grown-up in us needs to honor the child in us, the playful, curious one when the moment strikes. When we do, those mind-numbing habits get thrown a curveball and you get a glimpse of spirit, the real reason we are here. Wouldn’t you rather be living that kind of life? A life filled with inspiration, with baby steps toward deep-seated dreams, with connection to others, with your talents, discovered and given, with time spent doing the things you love, most likely with the ones you love? That is life! That is why we are here. The grown-up stuff is just a part of the deal, not the whole deal.

You might not know exactly where your compass will take you, sometimes the needle is a bit shaky. But I promise, if you follow it, you won’t regret it. That is part of the adventure, the life worth living, the unknown, the wonder. It may even take you to Canada or to a small town far away from what you thought your whole mapped-out life would look like. Ohhhhh……the possibilities.