Polaris Vol. 02

Embark on the Journey of Contemplation

Polaris is a travel magazine and a collective with the theme of “the journey of contemplation”. We search for hints for contemplating our own lives in the different values and principles through the collection of fragmented narratives of people from all over the world. We define the way we propose travel as “the journey of contemplation”. Japan, the country I was born in, is a beautiful island nation tucked away in the far east of the world. The words “going on a journey” feel closer to the act of “leaping across borders” as someone who grew up in a country that is physically and culturally distant from any large continent. Leaping across borders. Stepping over that line. Experiencing different people’s lives. Meeting completely different sets of values and principles. We think of journeying as a means through which people contemplate the way they live.

Polaris collects people’s ordinary everyday narratives. The term “narrative” is often confused with the term “story” despite different origins and meanings. Narrative is a term born from clinical psychology. It was used for people with mental illnesses who would recount their worries to their carers. Unlike stories that are used to describe the carefully designed plot of movies or books, narratives are personal fragments without a sense of cohesion. We all live and perceive the world and ourselves by weaving the narratives inside of us. To hear the narratives of others is to touch their lives. Through the lives of others, we perceive the world before us from a slightly different angle. They may create a different meaning to our daily life. People’s narratives resonate. When people’s narratives touch each other, they sometimes have the power to strongly engulf and influence each other’s values.