Wayfinding
In which we chart our paths in our own way
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Roughly 2 million years ago, a group of Homo erectus left the African continent behind to spread across Eurasia. Over time, these populations of H. erectus would evolve into the ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Around 300,000 years ago, modern humans - Homo sapiens - evolved in Africa. They eventually spread across the world in two waves of migration, one roughly 125,000 years ago and another around 60,000 years ago.
While those numbers are very rough and can differ depending on the source you’re consulting, the above story is the general idea: two waves of modern humans from Africa to the rest of the world.
To the best of our knowledge, the islands of Polynesia are the last parts of the earth to hear human footfalls. The so-called Austronesian expansion began in Taiwan around 3,500 years ago. This expansion into, and settlement of, the Pacific islands happened in pulses and pauses - likely due to advances in sailing, notably the outrigger and later double-hulled canoe.
These early Polynesian people crossed vast swathes of the ocean and spent extended periods on the water without land in sight. No GPS, no compass, and no map. They weren’t navigating (which implies knowledge of your destination), but wayfinding, making their way across an unknown world.
You know, like life.
We navigate through childhood but have to do some serious wayfinding as we stumble into our adult lives. As children, we spend most of our time in nicely regimented days of school and extracurriculars. Tough to navigate sometimes, for sure, but at least there’s a map. Then, we grow up and we’re forced to realize that we probably won’t be bestselling authors who moonlight as astronauts and spend their holidays making archeological discoveries in a mysterious jungle temple. We’re dropped in an ocean of streams and currents that push and pull us this way and that without a map as we try to stay afloat and find our way to a destination unknown.
How do we even start?
There’s an interesting recent study that looks at navigating and wayfinding practices in traditional cultures all over the world. Long story short, each culture has its own methods of navigating and wayfinding. Inuit use wind and snowdrift, the Taumako from the Solomon Islands use the stars and ocean lights, and so on. Or:
It typically involves an integrated system of methods, drawing on a detailed understanding of the environmental cues, specific tools, and forms part of a broader cultural system.
I think we can even extend this to our (admittedly, strained) metaphor of finding our way in life. (It might even have its application in practicing sports by designing practice landscapes. Yes, I got lost in a rabbit hole for a while.)
As we make our way through life, we will rely on landmarks that are uniquely ours; a combination of cultural elements, social pressures, financial and health circumstances, and - importantly - our personal values.
(Fun fact: shared values are a more important predictor of relationship success than physical attraction or even personality traits.)
There is no map and the destination is ours to define. Material wealth? A loving family? A name that echoes through eternity? What matters and how do we get there? If I were better at marketing, I’d offer you a self-help e-book for the unbeatable price of $9.99. Instead, all I can do is honestly admit that the answers are yours and yours alone.
As for me, I have no idea where I am, where I’m going, or what I’m doing. Destination unknown, landmarks uncertain.
You know, like life.
Related thoughts:
Alexander had no idea where he was going, but he got there, and changed the world. You have certainly met you calling.