The Pole Star

Among all the stars in the sky, Polaris, the pole star is my most favorite one. Everyday it remains in the same place. If I am watching it through my telescope, unlike for other stars and planets, I don’t need to constantly rotate the lens to keep the star in view. In the past, sailors in the sea used to look at this star to determine direction (North). It’s a reference point – an anchor in life.

The idea may seem far fetched to you, but for someone like me who grew up loving the sky and the celestial objects it harbors, the imagery is not hard to conjure. All the stars move in the firmament. Down below, the earth constantly changes. As human beings we change. We grow up and grow old. Our mind evolves. Our thoughts and idea change over time. We move – through life stages and geographies. Everything about and around us changes. ‘Change is the only constant’ is the well-known and oft quoted proverb. But as we and everything around us move forward, something about us – the core – remain static. These are the inherent elements which make us who we are. These elements define our persona. Two friends meeting after four decades find some traits in their friends unchanged which help them recollect and reconnect. These traits – which can be our personality, our values and characters – are our anchor, like the pole star in the sky.

On many evenings when I look at the Polaris, I feel assured that I haven’t been swept away in the sea of ever changing life like an anchorless ship!