Most Mondays, my friend Sam texts me our shared horoscope. We’re both Aries, driven and fiery at heart, and this ritual always starts my week on a high note. I won’t claim to know much about astrology, but I am always so impressed, if not awed, at people who confidently spout off the nuances of each sign. Once someone said of my husband, “Oh, he’s the nicest Scorpio I’ve ever met. What a non-Scorpio Scorpio!” to which I wondered if they were telling me that he was astrologically destined to be a dick and I somehow lucked out (either way, I definitely lucked out). My only reference for such intimate “spiritual-like” deep knowledge is a brief phase of being a homeschool bible-verse memorizing child, who was fascinated and intimidated by kids who had practically memorized the whole bible before nine years old. Anyways, that was another life.
This week, there was a line in the horoscope that Sam sent me that really stuck out: “While Chiron’s journey through Aries is a lengthy one, the lessons it imparts take time.”
YES.
Lessons. Take. Time.
While I fully realize this is not a new concept, it feels novel today, especially when our phones give us front row access to other people’s curated progress and whatnot 24/7. The Aries nature in me likes to move fast, loves to eat up information to realize quick results, and thrives on the excitement of progress. Once, a therapist told me to be careful because I’m drawn to drama (woof). My current therapist told me that’s probably not true (and that that other therapist shouldn't have said that to me - phew), I understand what she was getting at: I love feeling like I’m in the middle of something big and energetic. It’s much harder for me to feel engaged in something if it moves at a slow rate. Simply moving one foot in front of another towards progress feels mechanical and dull. It is often an existence I actively tend to avoid.
But what am I missing out on learning if I bail before the lesson shows up?
It feels right that I’m being reminded of this as we round the end of the year, one where I’m sure a lot of our collective plans, hopes, dreams, and goals feel stalled, stuck, or unfinished (again). I’m not ending 2021 where I wished or hoped I’d be, but I’m ending it telling myself that I’m in the middle of a long lesson. Though I don’t know how much solace that brings, it brings the bigger picture into view, and maybe that’s the point.
Get this week’s playlist here.
Happy last week of 2021, I’ll see you next year.
Meghan