Moral compass

What drives you? Where are you heading? When will you arrive? How is your engine fueled?     

But most importantly – who is at the wheel?

What is it, exactly, that is guiding you through this voyage?

Things change, people evolve, but our moral compass should remain relatively steady, providing guidance and sending us signals when we are steering off course.

But what if you’ve been heading in a certain direction for some time now, following the course you had already charted out and yet you feel off kilter?

It’s tempting to ignore or even try to silence the warning signals that our moral compass is giving out, especially when it touches our status quo. We are rarely open to our sense of comfort being challenged.

But to cite my new favorite catch phrase (original author unknown): There is no comfort in growth and no growth in comfort.

Our decisions and choices should always have the common denominator of being based in meaning.

Our moral compass englobes that raison d’être – the purpose that pilots our actions, our relationships, our goals and our dreams.

Without that fundamental purpose (and no – just paying the bills does not equate to direction), our gestures can become void of sense. The lack of meaning in our actions can deeply shake our moral being and weigh down on our soul, creating a general feeling of emptiness, confusion and despair. It can feel like we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Purpose is highly subjective and deeply individual. It doesn’t have to be revolutionary, nor earth shattering. It just has to provide meaning to our movement.

No meaning, no direction, no drive.

Time to get uncomfortable.

Pull up the anchor. Adjust the sails. Get out the compass. Chart the course.

Be the captain and, with Grit&Grace, take the wheel.

Photos by Ruth Arless-Frandsen, NYC, October 2023.