Mapmakers & Madmen: Navigating a Life That Doesn’t Follow the Rules

I once believed there was a “Right Way” to do things.

It was a tidy trail through the tulips with polite signage and excellent lighting.

🎩 Following Other People’s Maps

For a long time, I followed other people’s maps.

I ticked to do boxes as I followed the signposts and I smiled politely as I wandered in polite circles. Until I realized their “success” didn’t feel like mine.

Their tea parties bored me, their labels didn’t fit, and their clocks ran fast and slow in all the wrong places.

☕ Welcome to Wonderland

Wonderland doesn’t do tidy.

It prefers rabbit holes, twisted paths, tea party detours, and delightful nonsense.

In Wonderland, the map is you.

And if you wait for someone to hand you permission to live the life you feel called to, you may find yourself permanently late for your own tea time.

Maps drawn by others are made for their dreams, not yours.

They weren’t designed for your particular blend of wild whimsy and curious spark or for those willing to live life on their own terms. And if you force yourself to follow them, you’ll end up living someone else’s destination.

How to Navigate a World That Doesn’t Make Sense

Say yes to detours — The scenic route often leads to the truest self.

Ignore the clocks — Your timing is yours alone.

Break the labels — You weren’t made to fit in a box; you were born to bend the edges.

🗺️Who Are the Mapmakers?

Mapmakers are those who:

• Draw their own paths through the fog.
• Refuse to shrink to fit what makes others comfortable.
• Say “no” to the obvious route and “yes” to the curious one.

But don’t get too smug, every mapmaker is part madman. It takes a little madness to believe in your vision before it makes sense to anyone else.

Mapmakers are not the loudest or the most followed.

They’re the ones who:

• Keep going when no one claps.
• Trade comfort for curiousity.
• Question every signpost that says, “You must be this way to matter”.

And sometimes, when the sky folds inward, they ask the clouds for directions and listen to the echo instead of the answer.

🐛 What the Caterpillar Didn’t Tell Me

The caterpillar once asked me, “Who are you?”

I answered:

“I’m a writer, a designer, a helper, and a dreamer,”

…and I gave him my résumé.

He blew a smoke ring in the shape of a question mark and said,

“Those are hats, dear. I asked Who are YOU?“

A challenge wrapped in mystery.

Not the titles you wear or the roles you play, but the quiet soul that lingers beneath the chaos.

The you that smiles without reason,

wonders without apology,

and wanders off the map just to see what happens next.

So I took a deep breath,

tucked my résumé away,

and began to listen to the echos whispered only in the spaces between my thoughts.

💭5 Questions to Ask When You’re Stuck Following Someone Else’s Map

1. Does this goal feel like mine?
2. Am I shrinking to fit this path?
3. What would I do if no one was watching?
4. What makes me feel wonderfully ‘bonkers’ in the best way?
5. Who would I be if I stopped performing and started wondering?

🕰 Final Sip of Wonderland Wisdom

Not all who wander are lost.
But all who wander with wonder leave behind a trail for others to find themselves.

Make maps that meander.
Get gloriously off-course.
And if anyone questions your direction…

just smile like the Cheshire Cat and say:

“I’m not lost, you see… I’m simply where the White Rabbit isn’t.”

Which is to say, I’m precisely where I’m meant to wonder.

💌 Stay curious. Stay kind. Stay completely bonkers.

🫖 Yours in tea and truth,