Polaris — one of the most prominent stars in the night sky. Also, a snowmobile manufacturer.
Polaris is a brilliantly located star of the constellation Ursa Minor, affectionately known as the Little Dipper. If you Google “Polaris” you will find this out, along with some random stuff about a popular ATV and snowmobile brand of the same name.
I can’t even tell you how many search results with the phrase “Polaris RANGER CREW XP 1000 NorthStar Edition” I had to sift through to find information about Polaris the freaking star.
For the purpose of this post, I’ll stick with Polaris, the star. The one that would take us 1.5 million years of space travel to get up close and personal with. The one that’s only about the 50th brightest star in the sky. Right now, though, it’s only number 47 because its brightness changes throughout its life.
Polaris is a Cepheid, which despite sounding like a strange creature you might find in a tide pool, is a pulsating star that varies both in diameter and brightness throughout its life.
So, how is a star that’s living 323 light-years away from us is related to our lives here on earth?
You: An Oscillation Of Light
I can’t help but say something poetic about how we’re all made of stardust (because, technically, we kind of are) but I’m sure you’ve already heard that, so let’s get this out of the way now and I won’t dwell too heavily on it.
Just know that our bodies are still connected to the stars because we are quite literally born out of the expelled elements of exploding stars. These expelled elements also serve as the seeds for new stars.
Stars are energy-burning machines. At their core, they are burning fuel which, in turn, produces more elements. Once they run out of fuel, the pressure of gravity overtakes the star and it collapses. If a star is big enough, it will explode and form a supernova, which just might leave behind a black hole.
But, if there’s balance between the energy produced from the star’s core and the gravity exerted on the star, then the star will continue to exist as it is, in a state of equilibrium.
In order to lead a brilliant life — however we define that — we must achieve a similar equilibrium. If we let too much external pressure be exerted upon us (not that it’s 100% up to us) then we end up crumbling from the pressure and our light starts to dim.
We might even collapse into ourselves and cease to exist in our brilliant state.
However, if we exert too much pressure outwardly, if we try to control and dominate too much, then we explode outwardly like a supernova.
Don’t let your light go out from too much either external or internal pressure. It would be a shame to reach supernova status before it’s your truly your time.
Find Your North Star
Up until now, I have failed to mention the one glaring fact about Polaris which is largely responsible for its fame: It is the North Star, a guiding light that has been used for centuries to help navigate the earth, as well as measure distances in space.
Polaris has changed throughout the years, just like your own North Star may change throughout your life. It accepts its lifecycle the way that only a “luminous spheroid of plasma” could.
Find a direction, any direction — if only as a placeholder for a better direction — and it will help ease the feeble aimlessness that we all experience sometimes. This will be your reason for being when all hope is lost.
It will ensure that if one part of your life crumbles, you will be held up by your North Star. Your light will be dimmed only for just a moment.
Just like Polaris, your light will flicker, and eventually fade into oblivion, but the record of your existence will always remain, just like the seeds of stars. In the meantime, it’s up to you to find your own North Star. It’s up to you to shine bright — and it’s up to you to know what makes it so.
