Never Mind What Other People Think ... It's Okay to Be a Little Bit Crazy

I just finished  Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho.  In a nutshell, the book is about a girl who attempts suicide and ends up in a mental hospital.  We follow Veronika and meet a number of other patients.  The book was fairly complex and I bet that lots of other people took away lots of different things, but what I got from it was that it is actually good to be a little bit crazy.

A number of the characters in the book ended up in the mental hospital because they refused to conform with the expectations placed upon them.  Expectations put there by society or family and friends or even themselves.  One young man started to follow the occult instead of the path to a powerful government position his parents had chosen for him.  Crazy, right?  Another woman wanted to leave her family to go help children in South America after she has seen their plight on the news.  She made herself physically ill contemplating this crazy idea.

In today's society if you choose to do something that does not conform with people's expectations for you, you are perceived as being crazy.  Or perhaps you even perceive yourself as crazy.  Why?  Isn't it actually fabulous to follow your heart?

The book made me stop and think about all of the opportunities I missed out on because I was afraid of being crazy.  My choice of college, my choice of career, travel opportunities and exciting experiences.  Now, I don't look back with regret because these choices were part of my path to get where I am, but going forward I am going to try to be a bit more crazy.  I am not going to allow fear of being different than people expect me to be to drive my decisions.  I am going to follow my heart.  Even if it sounds crazy. (Obviously with some caveats like not harming anyone.)

The day after I thought through this, I was chatting with a woman at pickup.  I have to say I have always found her a tad bit crazy.  She just doesn't conform.  And she was telling me how the night before at 11PM her husband decided he wanted a sandwich and asked if she wanted to go out with him to get one.  And she did. In her bathrobe.  My immediate thought was .. crazy!  And then I thought ... yeah, and that is fabulous that you wanted to go out in your bathrobe and you did.  That is crazy good!

YOUR TURN
Next time you want to do something and hear that little inner voice (or the voice of someone else for that matter) tell you that it is a crazy idea, do it anyway!  Dress  the way you want, take the day off if you feel like it, start a new hobby, take a spur of the moment trip.  Just try on crazy once in a while!

There Is Plaster Dust All Over My House ... What Are the Metaphors in Your Life?

We are undergoing construction.  Again.  I live in a Victorian house built in 1890 and almost ever year we tackle a new room.  This year it is a bedroom that will be for my daughter since we have now reached the age that the girls no longer want to share a room.

I know that there is going to be plaster dust when we do demolition.  The contractors plastic over the opening to the room.  I remembered to pull all of the clothes out of the closets in my bedroom since they share a wall with the bedroom we are working on and I know the dust creeps under the base molding and I didn't want all of my clothes dirtied.  Aside from that I didn't do too much prep.

After Day 1 I can home at 6:30 with two tired kids from dance.  I noticed in the dark house that I could see little cat footprints on my foyer table.  And on the dining room table.  Oh, and on the TV cabinet and the stairs.  Ugh.  I had forgotten how that dust just settles everywhere.

Then I went upstairs to hand the kids dance costumes in the closet in the guest room.  Which happens to be directly above the room being demoed.  That is when I started to cry.  I had forgotten that we have no subfloors.  Just old floorboards.  So when they pulled all the walls and ceiling down, all the dust rose right into my guest room.  About a half an inch of it.  On everything.  Luggage guitars, yoga mats, bedding.  I closed the door and numbed myself with a bottle of champagne.

On Day 2, I cleaned my living room a few times to make that my "happy place" and have moved my computer down here and am sleeping on the couch.  I have started cleaning the other less affected rooms and have decided the real messes will wait until most of the construction is done.  And once everything is done I am spending a few days doing a real deep cleaning.

I have accepted the mess.  I have accepted that things are going to be a little difficult for a few weeks.  I have accepted that even when we are done it is going to take a while to pull everything back into alignment.  I have accepted that I can't plan out dates but instead just need to play things by ear.  I have accepted that the little birthday party I am having here can still gone on even if my house is a bit of a mess.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because I see this situation as a metaphor for the emotional changes I go through.

I am in a place right now where I am pulling down another "room" in myself.  Tackling limiting beliefs and getting rid of the old crap.  Pulling down every wall and floorboard and old piece of molding.  And as much as I try to confine it to the times I want to focus on it, the dust goes everywhere in my life.  And perhaps it affects some areas in some really dirty ways.  And maybe I need to shut the door on those areas until I am done with my emotional "construction".  I need to be less rigid about what is happening and when and just accept the mess and the difficulty and the uncertainty.  I need to accept that in the end everything is going to be clean and beautiful and there will be a beautiful new room that will emerge .. in my house and in me.

I tell myself each day to be at peace with the chaos and the mess because it is a step on my journey to joy.

YOUR TURN
Is there anything going on in your physical life right now?  Can you see a metaphor for something going on in your emotional life?  What can you tell yourself each day?

Digging Deep ... Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio

On Thursday afternoon there will be a lunar eclipse in Scorpio.  Be prepared!

A lunar eclipse marks a turning point.  Usually there is some chaos at first but you just have to remember that there are lessons in that chaos that will propel you forward.  Forward through a door and there is no going back.

This lunar eclipse is in Scorpio.  Scorpio is a sign that is about digging deep.  Intimacy.  Vulnerability.  Moving beyond your limits.  Stripping away.

Be prepared for something to happen that is going to force you to go somewhere within yourself that you have never been.

The area of your life that will be affected by this depends on the house that Scorpio is for you...

Aries (born 3/21 - 4/20) The focus is on intense experiences.  Crisis, transformations, sex.
Taurus (born 4/21 - 5/21) The focus is partnerships.
Gemini (born 5/22 - 6/21) The focus is well being.  This includes work and health.
Cancer (born 6/22 - 7/22) The focus is your passions and creativity.
Leo (born 7/23 - 8/21)  The focus is your roots.  This includes your childhood and your home.
Virgo (born 8/22 - 9/23) The focus is the exchange of information.  This includes communications and learning.
Libra (born 9/24 - 10/23) The focus is self worth and security.
Scorpio (born 10/24 - 11/22)  The focus is self.
Sagittarius (born 11/23 - 12/22) The focus is your soul.  Things that you keep hidden inside and transformation of your soul
Capricorn (born 12/23 - 1/20) The focus is your goals, hopes and wishes.
Aquarius (born 1/21 - 2/19) The focus is your career or role in society.
Pisces (born 2/20 - 3/20) The focus is on broadening your horizons.



Whatever it is that happens is not going to be quite or subtle.  The message will be loud and clear.  Hopefully you can listen and act!