I was fortunate to spent most of January traveling from coast to coast and reconnecting with dear friends and family. I find myself gauging the energy of places I visit and how they influence my own energy. The coastline of California, Red Rocks of Sedona, crowded streets of Manhattan and suburbs Connecticut all have a different feel to them, yet I find myself comfortable in all of them. In fact, I relish the ability to jump from one to another because of the effect they have on my energy. It’s as if each location is a piece of the puzzle that is me. I love to sit on the beach and feel the vibrational sounds of the waves as much as I love to hang out in my mom's living room or attend a Broadway show. I do not like anyone of those things more than another, I enjoy it all.
I've written before about visiting new places and exploring the unknown. When you revisit places you knew well, especially places you have lived before, your memory kicks in and you can find your way without a map or GPS. You can let go of the focus of navigating and experience the place more deeply. Some of the landmarks you knew may have changed, but your instincts and stored memories from that place allow you to easily find your way. I think of wayfinding as experiential, not tactical. Where the journey is as much the point as the destination.
When I was in New York I had the chance to attend an amazing Restorative Yoga workshop. We spent three days practicing poses designed to coddle and nurture, supported by all sorts of props, gentle touch and aromatherapy. My hotel was about a mile from the studio, and each day I navigated the route through construction, farmers markets, pedestrians, dogs and people. I know the area well enough that I did not need a GPS to tell me where to go, and each time I would vary my way to see what interesting shops, restaurants and sites I might see. I discovered an amazing bakery and a cool sustainable zero waste shop, and saw a movie being filmed. None of those were things I set out to experience. Experiencing the way is as important as arriving somewhere. If I had been head down looking at my phone to make an exact turn onto a specific street I could have missed all of that. That experience of getting to the workshop was as much a part of my experience as the workshop itself.
Bill Burnett, author of Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life said “wayfinding is the ancient art of figuring out where you are going when you don’t actually know your destination." I love this quote, because it captures where I am right now in my life's journey. Growing up in Connecticut I set my destination as College, and out of Connecticut. After College, I set my destination as New York with a "good" job. The list continued for decades, setting one new destination after another. And one day I realized that it wasn't the destinations that mattered to me. It is the people I am with and the experiences we share that bring joy, and that is the point.
Today I could not say what my destination is. I have plans and intentions, but they are not place based and are more directional in nature than outcome oriented. I do not have control of the world I live in so not holding on to an intended destination feels wise. Unforeseen circumstances could upend the best laid plans. But, I have a way of figuring out where I am going. I am guided by my inner knowing of what feels right. My GPS might tell me to go right, but if my instinct says to go left I will. I may not arrive at exactly where I expected to, but who knows what I might discover on the way.
“Navigating becomes a way of knowing, familiarity, and fondness. It is how you can fall in love with a mountain or a forest. Wayfinding is how we accumulate treasure maps of exquisite memories.” M.R. O’Connor, Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World
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