Part 2: Maps
“Truth walks towards us on the path of our questions.” Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear
Dirt Road © Suzanne Lorenz 2015
Of all the senses; vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste, my sense of direction is my worst. Put me in a car, boat or a path in the middle of anywhere and I have no idea how to navigate on my own toward an intended destination. If I don’t have a map, I’m lost. Whether the maps are on paper or the Global Positioning System, it’s a certainty that if I don’t follow the directions, step by step, predictably I’ll end up where I don’t want to be. 
A portion of an ancient map; Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria, Oregon
The maps for my life destinations are more obscure. What’s the best decisions on which way to go with my art? How should I spend my time, money and energy? Who are the people I choose to have around me? How do I follow the path to abundance and safety? How did I find love? Where’s the map for those destinations?
Those answers may be the maps or paths that I follow by “reading” my own truth. I can follow my body map which holds my history and memory. I can pick a religious map, a 12- Step map or a financial map to guide me. I have picked people in my journeys as a map. Sometimes they were good guides, sometimes not. I want my life map to consists of creating and following a plan of what I value most in mind, body and spirit. When I feel lost, I look for that map.
“True navigation begins in the human heart. It’s the most important map of all.” Elizabeth Lindsey
Australia 2012 and 1915 © Phil Stoiber 2013
Paper lithography and chine-collé
Frame size: 28H x 21W inches
Private collection
Contact Phil at www.philstoiber.com