We are all Wayfinders

Airplanes travel to their destinations by a process of constant course correction. People are wayfinders too.

Consciously or not, we use a similar process of constant small corrections to keep us moving in the direction that feels right, towards the goals and desires we want to attain. Becoming aware of zigging a little too far in one direction, we zag back the other way in a constant effort to maintain balance, momentum and direction.

In the CBC Massey Lectures of 2009, anthropologist Wade Davis describes The Wayfinders of Polynesia, using their ancient skills to "pull islands out of the sea." From an early age, the highly skilled navigator learns all the signs of wave and weather. On a voyage, his responsibility is to read them correctly.

From ancient times Polynesian vessels have crossed great stretches of the South Pacific, seeking tiny distant islands. Once they near the destination, the next step is to tack back and forth, back and forth, combing the sea to avoid inadvertently passing it. Soon the tiny island appears on the horizon. The navigator has managed it again.

Polynesian outrigger oceangoing canoes are designed for one way travel. Arrival is the decided intention; there is no thought of turning back.

Life is like that too. We only go forward, and always into the unknown. Sometimes we must tack back and forth, back and forth, until we find the gem that appears like magic from what only a moment ago looked like an empty horizon.