The North Star, known by its astronomical name as “Polaris”, is the one which from our Planet Earth perspective does not appear to move in the night sky as do the other stars. As such, it has become a metaphor for the fixed places in our lives that our lives revolve around. In an editorial I had in a recent New Hampshire Union Leader editorial, here’s what I wrote:

“By North Star I mean some anchored-in-place set of beliefs, values, principles, and moral precepts that guide our lives and our decision making. The contents of our North Star may vary over the course of our lives (I know mine have), but most of us, in one way or another, look beyond ourselves to some higher sources of guidance and meaning in our lives. These sources are often of a religious or philosophical nature and, at their best, they serve to call us to our better selves and to provide guardrails for us when we act from our less than better selves.”

As we at UU Sanford begin our fifth year together I want to offer some thoughts on how we find our North Stars as our lives move along and why we need to rely on them. I’ll also say a bit about what I see as a need for a societal North Star in the midst of our current cultural and political climate.

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