Remembering The Days of Map Books and Mixtapes
Navigating life using your Human Design Authority
I was driving through Texas on I-40 in the summer of 1987. My route was highlighted in the Rand McNally road atlas sitting on the passenger seat and my 1967 Chrysler Newport floated down the road at 75 miles per hour. I had just ended a 3 month stay in Las Vegas and was headed to New Orleans. I had never been there, and had no idea what awaited me.
The map books and highlighters tracked my physical journey. The mixtapes tracked my spiritual and emotional journey. There was a certain freedom in knowing that I could go anywhere on that map and whichever mixtape I chose would set the mood for that adventure.
It was a simpler time. Or so it seems looking back on it now, 35 years later.
It was a time of adventures, some better than others. If I knew then what I know now. That’s a familiar thought when I look back at my life.
Following my gut often led me to these adventures.
I tended to be more spontaneous back then, which is probably why I’m such a planner now.
My third trip across the U.S. came after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California. I threw a dart at a map. It landed on Richmond, Virginia. So I was headed east again.
On that trip I took a side road leading to a gas station a little ways off the main highway just outside of Memphis, Tennessee where I met a woman who said she “knew” Elvis. (Yes, that was a little creepy, but 35 years later, I still remember that gas station). I smiled, bought an Elvis postcard and went on my way.
My gut decisions were always hit or miss whether they would steer me right. But at least now I know why.
Having Emotional Authority in my Human Design, I do need to listen to my gut, but then I need to wait and give it a little time to see if after an hour, a day, a week - that decision still feels right.
Now, obviously driving down the road I’m not going to stop and sit for an hour while I decide whether or not I’ll take a detour, but for the bigger decisions in life, I know that to avoid my “shiny object syndrome”, I need to step back and sit with some decisions and see if they’re still right after waiting through my emotions.
Your Authority in Human Design is what helps you make effective decisions.
For me it’s waiting through an emotional wave. For you it might be following your heart or trusting your intuition, or getting that solid “yes!” In your gut.
Your authority is like an inner compass that will steer you to encounter less resistance when making decisions, rather than letting your mind (which usually mucks things up) think through it. Your mind isn’t designed to make decisions, it’s designed to gather information using How, Why, and What questions.
Life is still an adventure, I just have better tools for navigation now.
Spontaneous adventures are still my activity of choice when I have the opportunity.
Human Design is my new map. It contains all the potentials. I can be or do whatever I want, and my design just shows me the most effective way for me to do it. My strategy and authority are the mixtapes, the tools that set the mood and help me make my best choices out of all those potentials.
So the Map books may be gone, and mixtapes replaced, but your Human Design is your built-in navigation system. It’s how you find your rhythm, your direction, your way back to you and your life’s great adventures.
Every first Tuesday is Finding Your True North, a live chat where I share more about what Human Design is, how you can apply it in your daily life, and you can ask questions to help you decide whether it’s something you need in your life right now.
Our next chat is today, Tuesday July 1st. But if you miss it, the next one will be Tuesday August 5th.
Hey, I know you know, but liking and sharing my posts helps them get seen by others (like your friends and followers)! And you might not know that coffee fuels my brain cells to keep bringing you more of the diversions in my head.
What I’m Reading This Week
Here are some other ‘stacks that have caught my attention this week. Check them out and subscribe or share if you like what they have to say:
Questions about life, Human Design, or what my backyard bunnies are doing today?