FLEXIBILITY

+RE

retrograde

retreat

remember

realign

redesign

recall

reboot

renew

readjust

All of the RE words above require flexibility for transformation. Time alone to think and recreate something new; getting rid of what is no longer useful and integrating the wisdom learned and all of those things that are useful, that add value, that are necessary.

We currently have five planets in retrograde. What does that mean? Well, I am not an astrologer but I know a lot of people who are and I learn from watching and listening to them. I have learned that just having one planet in retrograde, Mercury, means to slow down, look both ways, and proceed with caution. So, imagine five planets, one of which is Mercury, that are retrograde means SLOW THE F*CK DOWN, look both ways again, remember who you are, where you came from and think about who you want to be. Then you can think about crossing the road or confronting that person, or signing that contract… Re-member, Re-call, Re-think…. It’s a good time to be inward, to re-flect. We have the “go inward” part pretty down pat by now, don’t we? March 2020 was the time that America began to stay at home thanks to COVID19, well, most parts of America anyway…. but this Monthly Word is not about that.

Also this month, we will experience the Summer Solstice. It’s the longest day of the year and a very powerful time of the year. Here in New England it is going to be hot hot hot hot! Just the way I like it on the Solstice (then I start to eagerly count down the days until the Winter Solstice!). We are all in the middle of some very powerful and profound energy. The whole world is waking up and feeling it.

But to be here now, in the present moment, with the forced slow down due to the pandemic, the forced look in the mirror with all of the racial upheaval and injustice, the self-imposed slow down due to the retrogrades, the natural slow down due to 90+ degree heat, the power and energy the Solstice brings… to be present with all of this and feel the blessings of the moment is an incredible feeling and also incredibly challenging. In all of the turmoil, there is quiet. In all of the heat, there is cool water to dip my feet into. In all of the conflict, there is the peace in my home. In all of the noise, there is beautiful music to be heard. I look forward to having the time to think about who I want to be through this phase of the moon and in history; how I can expand creatively to help others learn how to heal themselves.

And none of this can happen without flexibility. I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m not as good with change & flexibility as I seem to be. HA! My schedule is one thing, then it’s another. I have to ride the ebb and flow of the needs of my family. And for months it’s been nothing short of inconsistent, tumultuous and unpredictable. I don’t thrive like this. I don’t create my best work like this. I don’t properly vent my frustrations and anger with the world like this. I don’t maintain my strongest spiritual practice like this. I don’t LIKE this.

For me, where flexibility is absent, resentment blossoms and self-righteousness blooms. There is EGO and DRAMA screaming and clawing at the door saying I Demand To Be Let In!!!! You Must Listen To ME!!!!!! But the thing is that flexibility is necessary in order to be present and it’s also necessary for growth. There is a saying that I identify with very much: “Anything I’ve ever had to let go of has claw marks in it.”

I’d like to think that I’m better than what I used to be, that I’m more easygoing. But recent times have me struggling with this idea of being flexible. I have been feeling that being flexible means having to sacrifice. And then I act like the martyr. (Eye roll here). We all know how much fun it is to be around a martyr. However, I’m glad I have traversed the thickest part of the forest with this and now getting ready to emerge into the meadow. I wouldn’t even be able to write any of this if I wasn’t. But it’s not going to happen at all without first remembering who I am, then retreating to think about who I want to be, and then re-adjusting and re-emerging as whole, fresh and ready.

I know I am not here to play small. I know I am here to help people heal themselves. But I also know that I am human and I need to continually breakdown and de-construct in order to grow and evolve into who I am meant to be. Flexibility is a key element in this equation. I am forever grateful for all of the amazing humans I have in my life to help me through this. I guess you could say I get by with a little help from my friends.

Thank you for reading this. I hope it has made you smile or feel inspired in some small way. Stay strong! Stay flexible!