Lessons from Nature

Finding true North means eyes up...

Growing up I was always impressed with the lawns which had the “straight lines” that dotted my small town Alberta neighbourhood or the beautifully manicured baseball diamonds I saw on TV with their intricate mow lines. When I had the chance to mow the lawn, I tried to emulate this. It did not go so well, as hard as I tried. I remember thinking, I just need to stare at the previous mow line more closely, walk more slowly and yet the more I did this the more crooked the lines got. Then I remember my dad giving me that “fatherly advice” and letting me in on a little secret…staring down right in front of you is actually the worst thing I could be doing to go straight. What I actually needed to do was pick a spot well in the distance, on the horizon, and keep my eyes on that “north star” and walk towards it. I did not need to go slow, in fact a good pace actually allowed the mower to stay more true. And voila, there came the straight or at least straighter lines! It was a great ah-ha moment as an 8-10 year old kid.

This same lesson was reinforced on our frequent summer family canoe trips. When I was younger it was typically me and my brother (later my sister) who sat in the middle of the canoe while my mom paddled in the bow and my dad in stern. As I got older I graduated out of the passenger seats to the bow where I simply tried to supply the power while my dad used his trusty J-stroke to keep us moving in the right direction.

Then when I was maybe twelve or so I had the opportunity to go to the stern. Again, like my early mowing days, this did not go super well. If you like the scenic route across the lake and seeing every bit of shoreline it was fine, as I staggered all over the lake! Again, I was going slow, concentrating on the front of the canoe, trying to keep it straight but this only lead to the constant overcorrection that allowed for the scenic route. So my dad reminded me of the mowing conversation, challenged me to pick a distinctive tree on the horizon and aim for that, keep my eyes on that. And again, voila, when my eyes lifted and I found a “north star” the canoe stayed true and when speed increased this also improved my directional challenges.

And what deep truth lies in this simple fact, when we stop “naval gazing”, when we lift our eyes from ourselves, when we focus on others, when we follow the way of Jesus, our North Star, life takes on a whole new perspective! I dare you to try it, maybe you simply want better mow lines, maybe you want to get your canoe to go straighter, or maybe you want to get unstuck from the muck and the mire that is weighing you down in your current situation. Lift your eyes, find a north star, lock it in and see what changes come in your life. My experience with lawn tractors and canoes tells me you’ll appreciate the results!