Published: April 21, 2009 10:35 pm      

GESENHUES: Going with the flow

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.