It rained today like it had been waiting to rain for years and finally got the go ahead. I tried to walk in the morning, but my walking partner and I barely made it to the start of her street when the rain drops got bigger than our determination.
We gave in and returned to her kitchen table for coffee, wearing our wet hair and wet sweats. Her husband headed out to get breakfast pastries for everyone, and I gave in to those as well. My every intention was to walk, but I settled for fresh coffee and a warm glazed doughnut. Pretty much the very opposite of what I had originally wanted to accomplish.
I decided to let the rain decide my day for me. It was time to rest, relax and spend my Sunday doing as little as possible. Whatever I had planned on doing was going to be a bust, so I gave in to the flow of the on-again, off-again rain drops. Going with the flow works much better than trying to fight it. It’s a lesson that took me more than 30 years to learn, but one I use most frequently.
I struggled with this idea of going with the flow in college and through most of my 20s. It seemed that Murphy’s Law was an actual tenet of physics, and no matter what I did to make things go my way, things always headed in the opposite direction. What I failed to see was that it wasn’t “things” that were headed in the wrong direction — it was me. Trying to force things only breaks them.
What happens when you stop forcing? It’s when you stop trying to push and pull against the flow that things work out in your favor. The trick is being able to realize when you are pushing and pulling.
A couple years ago, my yoga instructor informed our class to beware — Mercury was in retrograde. This retrograde cycle for Mercury happens about four times a year. It’s when the planet’s revolution around the sun begins to slow and appears to be moving backward because of the optical illusion caused by the planet’s shadow. According to leading astrologers, Mercury is the planet of communication. So when it’s in retrograde, all things having to do with communication will be on the fritz.
Of course, you can say this is all bunk and that astrology is on the same level as scientology and not to be trusted in these parts. The next Mercury retrograde cycle is May 7 through May 30, so you can test it for yourself. Take note of any specific struggles you may be having next month, and if you find that Mercury is putting a fix on your communication tools — cell phone, e-mails, etc. — you may want to take a break from them. Let the planet have its way with your Blackberry; come June, everything should be back to normal speed.
Go with the flow and see what it’s like to give in to Mercury’s urging. It’s easy to get caught up in the go, go, go of your weekly routine and forget just how important taking a break is for the soul. With work, kids, family and friends, most of us have a to-do list that is too big to hang on our refrigerator.
I have a full-time career, a husband, two kiddos, a home and a cat. I am blessed beyond all measures. But I’m also often overwhelmed with all I want to accomplish in a day. There are times I can’t pass through my kitchen without several thoughts prompting me to do different tasks all within a few seconds. I open the back door to let in the cat, grab my daughter’s barrette, shoe, toy, whatever to throw in her room, pour out the coffee leftover from that morning, go through the mail, all the while trying to come up with dinner plans so everyone eats before 10 p.m.
That’s what the rain was for this weekend and what Mercury may be pushing us to realize next month, to serve as a reminder that it’s in our best interest sometimes to stop thinking of all that needs to be done and just go with the flow. Align yourself with the universe even if the universe — or Mercury for that matter — appears to be going in reverse.
Columns
Related Photos
Discussion
GESENHUES: Going with the flow
- Columns
-
-
CLERE: Walkout is absurd
The walkout by Indiana House Democrats entered its third week yesterday as tensions continued to rise and misinformation proliferated.
-
LADD: New Albany has new energy
New Albany is evolving. Public art has become more prevalent in the downtown, drawing more locals and outside visitors to our community; bringing more publicity.
-
DODD: An unexpected Angel
-
STAWAR: The souvenir state of America
Recently, my wife Diane and I spent the day aboard the Belle of Cincinnati with our daughter’s family. We all had a good time, even though the diesel-powered Cincinnati attraction isn’t a real steamboat, like our own Belle of Louisville, and despite the fact that it poured down rain the whole time.
-
NASH: Making a Memorial vacation
Memorial Day weekend is upon us which brings us to the start of the summer travel season. With the mild winter we had around here most schools didn’t have much in terms of snow make-up days so many kids have already finished up their semesters and are ready to get on with their holiday. Not to worry parents it will only be a couple of weeks before the back-to-school sales kick in and in no time at all it will be time for those youngsters to go back.
-
HARBESON: A handy little idea
After having worked hard the past few months, I now have something new to add to my resume — “I was Lead Project Manager for a major construction venture, supervising every aspect in the creation of a privately funded community building.”
-
MORRIS: Nancy Hogan was more than just an employee
Pulling into The Tribune parking lot each morning was pretty uneventful in the old days. Nothing good happens between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Nothing at all.
-
HAMILTON: Is this really the best we can do?
As you know if you pay attention to national affairs, the United States faces a perfect fiscal storm at the end of this year. A confluence of deadlines and policy triggers unlike anything I can remember in a half-century of public life will produce massive budget cuts and serious tax increases amounting to a 3.5 percent hit on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
-
BEAM: Lost memories found
As time elapses, so do our memories. I forget things now. I can’t remember his height. How did he curl his lips into that sardonic, wholehearted smile? I only recall flashes of a moment. Wearing his jacket at prom. His golf clubs in the back of his old, golden car. Notes passed in the hallway. Listening to Boys to Men in his basement.
-
STANCZYKIEWICZ: A gift for mom and dad
Two strategies for parents are important. First, parents need to model for children how to disagree. “When you’re talking with your spouse and you’re whining and complaining and nagging, you shouldn’t be too surprised when your young person does the same thing,” Allen said. “We need to be good role models.”
- More Columns Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
