Marooned Without a Compass Day – November 6, 2022, history, significance
Marooned Without a Compass Day is celebrated on November 6 to put a spotlight on the direction of our lives, or the lack of it. On this day, we ask ourselves the hard questions. Where is my life going? Am I happy? In a rather literal sense, ‘marooned’ means being trapped alone in a place, but in a mindful sense, it describes the ecstatic gloom that comes with being lost in our life. The day is all about climbing up from the rock bottom of our lives and becoming our compass.
HISTORY OF MAROONED WITHOUT A COMPASS DAY
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word ‘marooned’ as “trapped and alone in an inaccessible place, especially an island.” Isn’t this how we often feel? Stranded alone on a metaphorical island with no one to save us. Or being stuck in the trappings of our mind without a hand to guide us out.
Like a compass that works in sync with the magnetic forces of the earth, humans are also connected with nature in mysterious ways. It is a direct callout to the times bygone when we all used our compasses to trace the directions of our journey. The day is a gentle urge to find our life’s direction and reject the paths which do not align with our purpose.
The day also calls out the pervasiveness of the self-help culture of America. Being the world’s bestselling genre, thousands of self-help books are published each year. Every nightstand has one, and it makes for the perfect gift. Although their impact remains untraceable, the gist is clear — people want to help themselves, all they need is a cheat sheet in the form of a self-help book.
As we continue to research the origins of this holiday, the message behind it is clear. The daunting feelings about losing our purpose and being lost in life are shared by millions of humans. There are various ways in which we traverse these rocky times to triumph so that we move forward and unmire ourselves.
MAROONED WITHOUT A COMPASS DAY TIMELINE
2800 B.C.
The First Self-Help Book
The first-ever self-help book titled “Sebayt” is discovered in Ancient Egypt.
1455
Progress Via Imitation
“Mirror-of-Princes”, a self-help book series about emulating the manners of the royal family, is mass published by Gutenberg.
1859
Rising Through the Ranks
A collection of inspirational stories titled “Samuel Smiles’ Self-Help” becomes an instant bestseller.
1913
The Audacious Callout
British writer G.K. Charlestons calls out the absurdity of self-help books in a scathing diatribe.
2022
Much Moolah
The self-help industry is worth $13 billion.
MAROONED WITHOUT A COMPASS DAY ACTIVITIES
Find your purpose
Finding your purpose can be a daunting task. Thankfully, we have an entire day that encourages us on finding the right path in our lives — even if we’ve been stranded without help. Very often, the very act of stepping back and pondering where we are is the pivotal point of enlightenment. And you do not have to do it alone — friends, family, counselors, and help abound.
Make a five-year plan
A five-year plan is an assessment of what your life will look like 5 years from now, and the decisions that you need to make to bring that vision to fruition. It is both exciting and nerve-wracking to plan your life, but taking charge of your life comes with the reward of carving out your future.
Volunteer
Volunteering boosts our self-confidence and gives us an incredible sense of achievement, which are tools of self-esteem that can recover you from the sense of feeling lost. On Marooned Without a Compass Day, take some time out to give back to the community, and find the favor returned to you.
5 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN FEELING LOST IN LIFE
On habits
Can I reach my future goals with my current habits?
On energy
What gives me energy, and what takes it?
On expectations
Whose expectations am I trying to fulfill right now?
On duties
Are my obligations real or imaginary?
On priorities
What is the most neglected part of my life right now?
WHY WE LOVE MAROONED WITHOUT A COMPASS DAY
It’s a personal intervention
There’s more to life than being stuck in jobs we hate for apartments we can barely afford. All of us are born with a purpose. Regardless of what our present looks like — we have the ultimate power to remodel our future. Use November 6 as your annual intervention and reevaluate the pathway of your life.
We need seasonal evaluation
It’s hard to take a breath and evaluate our purpose in our lives. Marooned Without a Compass Day is an external reminder to conduct a complete reevaluation of the path that we are.
No one is coming to save you
We are all alone in our journey. While a fellow passenger may grace our lives every once in a while, no one can save us but ourselves. This presents us with a choice: we can either be marooned, or we can take charge of our lives to find our purpose.
