You Deserve Your Space to Be Unapologetically You

I don't know who needs to hear this, but...

Most people, if not all past a certain age, have at some point:
Bad posture, unflattering angles, repeated outfits, pimples, cellulite, stretch marks, fat rolls, white hair, bald spots, snored, drooled, burped, farted, picked their nose, scratched their butt, let their room get messy, ingested what they probably shouldn't, lied harmlessly or justifiably, ranted or vented about someone they love, watched porn, masturbated, remained in the closet about something, etc, etc, etc.

And while you could say that these things are gross and/or embarrassing, you also can certainly think of what's way worse than simply being human.

The "perfection" people chase or pretend at on social media, or generally in public, is unsustainable as a 24/7 reality. So don't hold yourself to that standard while you're just living.

Enough of us do get it and give you your space. ✌️

Do Not Give In, Do Not Give Up

You can turn around and forget about it, but should you? There are times when we’re on the wrong track and, whether we like it or not, we must face it and pivot. But there are also times when we’re on the right track and it’s seemingly endless, not getting us anywhere.

You may pause and evaluate. After how far you’ve come, how much have you acquired and/or accomplished? Furthermore, how important is it to you to get where you are going, sooner or later? Are you, perhaps, significantly close to your aspirations at last? Are your chances promising and, if they aren’t, are they worth taking anyway?

Have you ever looked back to when you were striving for something but, for one reason or another, you quit and then mourned what could have been had you kept going, regretting not having done so? And for what? What was in place of what would have instead been determined and devoted action toward a mark in the distance? You might not even remember what filled up your days. It might have merely been filler.

When you don’t see results quickly, it can indeed be discouraging. But not more disappointing than looking back to 5 or 10 years that passed without anything of much or any consequence at all. You are not getting that back. You can’t turn back time. So when the road is long, and it gets tiring, boring even, think of the future you and whether or not you’re doing them a solid that they would be grateful for.

Grand feats don’t normally occur overnight. And this is even more the case when it comes to making the “impossible” possible. Your wildest dreams come true. Reaching your highest ideal. Or being an underdog that still dares to look forward to better. You can certainly chase after speedy returns, being pragmatic and “realistic”, but is that all you’d trade your life for?

If there is something that you greatly, profoundly, and strongly care about, something that you’re miserable without pursuing, you should go for it as much as you can afford or to the measure that satisfies you. 

Getting lucky along the way isn’t guaranteed. Getting a ride, finding a shortcut, having fair weather, enjoying a scenic route, being on an open street, or even encountering cute animals around. None of this can be counted on. And while it would be nice, in the instances that they do happen, you must keep going regardless.

If it matters, don’t stop.

Taurus' Season

♉ TAURUS

As we enter the season of Taurus, it is believed that the universe will be affecting us with energies that will cause us to slow down and seek stability. We will be more in tune with our senses, and abilities to build and maintain will be enhanced. If you are receptive to them, you might be imbued with patience and steadfastness. If you are resistant to them, you might be conflicted with stubbornness and overindulgence. If you are completely blocked out, you might not notice them at all. And if you don't pay enough attention, you might miss opportunities to create lasting comfort.

Motivational Quote: "Slow and steady wins the race."

For context and more of relevance, please read about The Zodiac.

What Is in Your Favor?

Interestingly, what may seem to be going against you might, indirectly, actually be in your favor. And as crazy as that can sound, it happens a lot more often than we realize.

Much in life operates based on requirements, standards, preferences, and priorities. On both conscious and subconscious levels. And is this, precisely, what can keep us from what is not meant for us and ‘redirect’ us to what is. Similarly, there are pulls and pushes in ourselves that can, with or without our consent, sabotage us or take us to success.

Clearly, plenty can get in the way of this magnetism and lead us astray. Fear, conditioning, habits, our own heads and hearts. But the laws remain there, influencing and affecting to at least some extent. So if something just doesn’t seem to ever be right, there’s a chance it’s not for you or it is but it’s not yet the time.  

Opportunities abound and we miss many of them while fixating on what we set ourselves on. Yes, some things are just too good to pass up and trying harder is what you should be doing, but that’s something to discern in each occasion rather than always carrying a scarcity mindset that enslaves you to what isn’t welcoming you.

Do your best, but recognize that great opportunities may be available that don’t require you to struggle so much. And don’t immediately discard them due to the assumption that if it comes easy then it isn’t worthwhile. Perhaps you have earned it already so you don’t have to prove yourself anymore for it. It is thus available to you, yet not to others. And it’d be a loss to turn your back on it.

Furthermore, certain paths are not compatible with others. So, the moment you are no longer on one path, others will become accessible to you. You’ve shown you can’t or, by firm decision, won’t walk that one path, so these other paths might do. What's important is to not get stuck believing there’s nowhere to go when that isn’t the case.

What most resonates and is most aligned with who you are, and where and when you are in life, is waiting for you, ready to make it easier and lighter, now more directly working in your favor, not against you. So stop making things unnecessarily difficult and hard for yourself; find those doors that lead you to more for less. And value it. 

What Is at Your Disposal?

Before you’re overcome with defeatism, look around, and look closely. You are not without resources to be resourceful with. In one way or another, something must be there for you to gain an advantage, keep up, or not fall too far behind.

We often overlook what we have while being distracted by what others have. Maybe what’s theirs is more obvious, more commonly credited and sought after, or maybe you’re just not even paying attention to what’s with you.

Being an artist isn’t only about having the best and the most of whatever is currently being recommended by this or that ‘expert’ source to work with. Being an artist is also about spotting what others wouldn’t and coming up with ideas that others couldn’t. Literally making the most and the best out of what you do have. Then the most unthinkable and unimaginable may come out of it. Which may surprise the audience - and even put you at the lead of a novel technique that others would aim, failing or not, to follow. 

You can look where it seems most unlikely to have something that you could use. Maybe a weakness can be a strength. A shortcoming be a guideline. A flaw be a quality. Maybe if you suspend the judgment you’ve been conditioned to have you can see numerous ways in which something could be handy.

You can look where it is most likely to have something useful too. Your talents, your skills, your knowledge, your expertise, anything you’ve mastered. Don’t take those for granted. They might be exactly what is giving you an edge that cannot be beaten in competition. It’s great to be constantly pushing yourself and developing where you’re lacking, but don’t forget to use what you have already developed.

Take inventory. See, within the concrete and within the abstract, inside and outside of yourself, what you can gather and what you can put together that would serve you toward reaching a goal or through solving a problem. 

Don’t be afraid of having a few silly attempts that prove not to deliver after all. You won’t know for sure until you try. Visualize, simulate, or even put it to the test.

Barren Grounds Vs. Lush Gardens

Don't make grounds barren and then claim lush gardens are mere fiction…

The ongoing debate about being realistic or being idealistic keeps getting on my nerves, so might as well bring it up and offer my point of view.

Too often, people assume they have the most correct and accurate perception of the self, people, life, the world, and/or the universe. What they fail to realize is that they are not accounting for what, with what is, could be. In some cases, they are not even accounting for what, despite what now is, has been. Quite literally, they are being short-sighted. Yes, you can see what’s right in front of you and around you with clarity, perhaps even in precise detail, but there is a lot more that goes beyond that.

It’s no lie that many idealists have given idealism a bad name. And this is because, alternatively although similarly, they also fail to take more into account. They ignore the what is in favor of their whimsical imagination. And that’s fine, outstanding even, if you’re working on a piece of fiction. But when it comes to reality… Well, reality significantly matters.

You shouldn’t be convincing yourself that all would be wonderful, when it wouldn’t, the same way you shouldn’t be convincing yourself that all will always be brutal, when it doesn’t have to be. These are limited and incomplete views that keep you from making the most and the best of what you have and could have. In both cases, you are deluding yourself - either trapping yourself within an alluringly escapist dream or trapping yourself within a barely bearable nightmare. And what’s worse, you are letting or even calling others to join you there.

You have a hand in what happens. You, me, and everyone else. So until there is enough of us believing in and working towards an Ideal Reality, we’ll be settling for an ever-elusive fantasy in a grating dystopia. Don't be a fool.

The Callousness of Stepping Over Others

Is it cruelty? Is it done with malice? Or is it mere carelessness? It can be hard to tell when others can’t even be bothered to watch where they’re going, let alone watch their steps. But the result remains the same: something is destroyed in their path.

Excuses and justifications abound. And trying to reason it out of them can take forever, going in circles or downright hitting a wall. They might be terribly dense or have terribly contorted themselves away from the reality of it. That not always, actually only at times, are you legitimately entitled to steamroll and demolish others.

You can only shout “Survival of the fittest!” so much before you find yourself alone, without what supported you, nourished you, brought wonder and astonishment into your life, or at least spiced it up. And if that’s what you prefer, then maybe moving by yourself to another planet would be the appropriate solution.

Pushing through matters, there’s no denying that. There are instances in which you are blocked or expected to make countless turns, of no relevance, only to get from point A to point B. And there are instances in which your opponents, to serve their own interests, would obstruct you from moving forward. So you must be resolute and not let undue consideration hold you back. 

There’s an art to it because it definitely isn’t simple to determine when it is what, why, and how to best proceed. But that’s exactly what not being careless is about. And it is something that the more callous struggle with. 

A lot of the time, they cannot wrap their heads around all that is implied and all that it entails, nor can they grasp much nuance in between. It frustrates them, which then adds to an anger that they like to mistake as righteous. They refuse to accommodate sophisticated complexity and demand that you accommodate their coarse plainness. Assuming themselves victorious merely for taking the easier route.

However, you can be in touch with your nature and raw about it without becoming primitive - a brute that is upset when asked to use their brain or their heart, even if only a little. Worse when, while failing to do so, expects to be welcome or even to dominate areas that require delicate attentiveness to subsist. Understanding that you don’t have to turn everything around you into a reflection of your shortcomings in order to be comfortable and able to roam.

Advantageous NOT Deleterious

Facing and overcoming adversity builds character, but too much of it, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, can instead break your spirit and beyond.

There are times when we can take on more than we realize, when challenges push us to give more of ourselves and foster abilities we otherwise wouldn’t, times when all it takes is stepping out of a comfort zone and adopting a can-do attitude. And that is indeed important, essential even, if we’re ever to grow past the minimum.

However, it also holds true that having space - yes, a safe space - free of the risks and dangers that could harm us is part of what can keep us going. When you’re too young, when you’re too weak, when you’re wounded or ill, or simply tired… These are not the moments in which you should be enduring and attempting to overcome all that goes against you. These are moments to have patience with yourself and tend to your lacks. So that then you can go out there and stand a chance.  

Harm can come at large, all at once, or as bits, little by little, and still ultimately deter you. The former is the most noticeable and, consequently, tends to be the most validated. However, you shouldn’t overlook the latter, which does and accumulates damage over time. And next thing you know, you’re far from who you used to be and who you could have become.

So if something bothers you, if it stings, or it just doesn’t seem right, it is not an overreaction to ask yourself if that’s something that you’d be okay having more of or if you’d be better off without it. Perhaps it is nothing to worry about and it comes with the day-to-day, as part of the package, and can be remedied or countered with ease - and this would be a solution. But if it is no more than chipping at you for no good reason, and you can’t even make enough out of it to compensate, and it is possible to be without it, then why would you allow it to continue? You could look for ways to create an environment that is without needless harm. ‘Needless’ being a key word here.

Many might find it an inconvenience and possibly accuse you of being too sensitive or problematic, but that’s because they’re thinking more about themselves (or how they’ve been conditioned) than they are about you, specifically, and what it takes for you to be well and reach your greatest form.

If you’re honest with yourself, you can have grit and the sort of toughness that’ll take you through harsh conditions, if that’s something you’re meant for, but also keep watch of what is making you less rather than more. 

Aries' Season

♈ ARIES

As we enter the season of Aries, it is believed that the universe will be affecting us with energies that will cause us to act boldly and embrace challenges. We will be more in tune with our inner drive, and abilities to initiate and take risks will be enhanced. If you are receptive to them, you might be imbued with courage and determination. If you are resistant to them, you might be conflicted with impulsiveness and restlessness. If you are completely blocked out, you might not notice them at all. And if you don't pay enough attention, you might miss opportunities for daring new beginnings.

Motivational Quote: "Fortune favors the brave."

For context and more of relevance, please read about The Zodiac.

The Elements In The Zodiac

As we go into the Zodiac signs, a significant distinction to make, that can set apart or bring together different signs, as well as grant more perspective on everything, is the element that they are associated with. They encompass certain traits that contribute to the qualities of each sign and what they bring to a person, time, or place. The elements are Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. 

• Fire
Fire essentially stands for dynamism. Fire impulsively, reactively or proactively, does it.
It is the domain of action.
As fire signs we have: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius.

• Earth
Earth essentially stands for matter. Earth tends to the details of concrete reality, grounded in what is, prudently examining and/or altering it.
It is the domain of practicality.
As Earth signs we have: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

• Air
Air essentially stands for concepts. Air figures out how and why, along with other factors of relevance.
It is the domain of technicalities.
As Air signs we have: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.

• Water
Water essentially stands for flow. Water comprehends, connects, fills, and refreshes, giving life.
It is the domain of humanity.
As Water signs we have: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

So we can take a look at ourselves, or at a situation, and see which elements are abundant and which are absent, which are repressed and which are dormant. Rarely are all four in perfect balance, nor should that be the aim. But we can take note of where our shortcomings and blindspots are, in general or within given contexts, and see where to delegate, be assisted with, or put in more effort.