Life has been super uncomfortable for most of us lately.
An analogy around this landed with me the other day that just made so much sense.
Surely, we all remember what it was like to outgrow our shoes. As kids we grow so fast, for us adults it’s less common to outgrow our shoes.
But take yourself back to a time when your favorite pair of shoes was getting too small.
Though you knew they needed replacing they were your comfortable old faithful’s.
Well, maybe not so comfortable anymore, leaving you with bruised feeling toes or maybe your toes had even started to poke holes through the tips.
So now the dichotomy, I have loved these shoes, we have walked more than a mile together.
Through peaks and valleys, wins and losses, I don’t want to say goodbye, I don’t want to let them go.
But also, they are pinching and squeezing and really are becoming unbearable.
They are slowing my movement…
we are going nowhere slowly together.
It is time to move on, we have had a good run but the next leg of the race we cannot do together.
We do it, we get the new shoes and guess what, another blasted dichotomy.
Is nothing black and white anymore, was it ever?
Ooh new shiny shoes, this is so exciting, I now look cool and will be able to move much faster.
New shoes, new me.
I can reinvent myself; these shoes will make the impossible possible.
I stand out.
I am outstanding.
But also, they are giving me blisters. They are not perfectly molded to me like my old pair, I miss my old pair.
I would rather have my old shoes back; they weren’t that bad.
I don’t know what I was thinking!
How did I think a new, bigger pair of shoes was going to make me bigger and better?
The issues are in our tissues
We are so wired and fired in our brains to default to what we know.
Our patterns of thought, emotions and our beliefs get stuck in our body.
The issues are in our tissues.
As soon as growth feels hard and uncomfortable, like wearing in a new pair of shoes, we would rather go back to the devil we know.
This reinforces the patterns.
Even though they may be literally toxic for us they feel safe, because they are familiar. Like a trauma bond.
If you have ever been, or know of someone who has been in any kind of abusive dynamic (who hasn’t) you will know that staying feels easier than leaving.
That is until you have changed your pattern and worn in a new one.
This takes time, depending on a range of factors. You, and your specific situation, how far back does this pattern go, how deeply unconscious has it been.
The pattern may be inherited or societal or even past life.
Ultimately though, we have to walk a mile in a new pair of shoes before they start to mold to our feet, or we start to grow into them.
Having room to grow into and walking past that edge of our comfort zone, is pretty scary.
It is like walking off a cliff, not knowing if a ledge, or a net will be there to catch you.
The Fool and the Magician
This brings to mind the first two cards of the Major Arcana, or we could say the first two steps of the hero/heroine’s journey.
We don’t start the hero’s journey as a hero, we start as a fool.
The Fool steps off a cliff into the unknown and the first step of the journey is a bit of a fool’s journey.
But in order to survive, the second step is about us realizing that we have within us all the raw material to not only survive, but to thrive.
Enter the Magician where we learn to alchemize and potentize our own unique gifts for the world.
Side note, the World is the final card of the Major Arcana and the final step in a hero’s journey.
Let’s use a short example of this narrative, in a well known and loved story, The Lord of the Rings.
Frodo Baggins (fool) is very happy in his comfort zone.
He is a hobbit with rather tough and hairy feet, so he doesn’t wear shoes, but the Shire is like his comfortable pair of old shoes.
Life is good, well, it's perfectly fine.
There is little room for growth and improvement.
But he is happy and grateful, and he is not looking for more.
But like the old adage, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan…there were things in store for Frodo that were outside of his control.
Enter the magician, Gandalf the grey.
And boy is he about to throw Frodo’s safe and comfortable existence into a frenzy of danger, adventure, friends, allies, enemies and lessons beyond his wildest imaginings.
I think he even started wearing shoes.
Frodo would ultimately learn to harness the magic within him, his own unique potentiality.
In summary of the times, we are living in;
Though there are things we can control, like brushing our teeth, being kind, and how we respond to life, there is MUCH MORE that is way outside of our control.
And that outside of our control ‘stuff’ is pushing us way outside of our comfort zone.
We are all Fool’s, and Magicians.
We are all scared and hopefully excited.
We are all in the same boat and also needing to walk in our own shoes.
I will hold your hand as you walk off the cliff.
I will hold trust and faith for you, in a process you cannot yet see or understand.
Will you do the same for me?
We are all on an individual hero’s journey for a collective goal.
The more of us that can hold joy, trust, hope, faith, love and light the more easily we tip the scales of positive change.
I will believe in you, even when you cannot.
Astrology Buzz
Virgo Aug 23rd to Sep 22nd
there is lots of cleaning, sorting, editing and ticking off of the To Do list to be done. You may feel super productive and as such really good about yourself. Or you may get stuck at Procrastination station on the Inner Critic line, just going nowhere slowly and no shortage of self-flagellating thoughts. Remember, there is much we can’t control, but you can absolutely choose to walk, rather than stay on that train of thought.
After all the more you walk the sooner, you will wear in your new shoes. Strive for progress, not perfection.
Libra Sep 23rd to Oct 22nd
whichever side of Virgo you ended on, Libra is here to help you balance it out a bit. A breath of fresh and sometimes judgmental air flows into the mix. Listen, how do you expect to balance the scales and be fair if you don’t make a judgment call as to what smells like smelly old shoes or rosey smelling new ones. Sure, there may be a thorn that came along with the rose smell in your new shoes and you may wear down that sharpness a bit, but that is a judgment you get to make.
Libra’s ruler, Venus is more about looking good with a little pain than smelling bad. What do you choose?
Lunations for July
Virgo New Moon is on the 3rd of September.
Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces on the 18th opposing the Sun in Virgo.
Keep an eye on my YouTube channel for forecasts.
Please Subscribe and click the little bell to be notified when I do an update.
Thank you for likes, comments and shares
Comments