Not to Be a Debbie Downer…

I’m a pragmatist.

That’s just how I’m made. I try to clearly evaluate and assess information before I act or form an opinion.

There are always two sides (or more) to every issue/discussion/event and a pragmatist tries to weigh all of those factions and then, act; not out of emotion, but out of what will actually work. That is pragmatism.

I guess what I’m saying is that due to all of the Capricorn energy in the world and in my own natal astrological chart right now, I can’t be anything else.

I’d love to wax poetic about what is ahead of us and how this year will be the year of love and light and solutions, but the pragmatist (and astrologer) part of me, just can’t.

I hate to seem like a Debbie Downer because I’m not in despair; I’m coming from a place where I am feeling strong, empowered and CLEAR on what is happening and what is in front of us.

I’m an optimistic pragmatist. I acknowledge that the glass is half full; now tell me what’s in it and can I drink it?!

This is not a year of hopes and dreams; it’s a year to put your head down and put one foot in front of the other, with the tools and circumstance that you have right in front of you.

I know. That’s no fun. That’s not my typical love and light message is it?
But, it’s just the way that it is.

Does it mean that this energy will last forever? No, it does not. Nothing lasts forever. Haven’t you been reading my previous blogs??:)

In fact, if we look honestly at how things work and manifest, it really does take that kind of work and discipline and diligence and in some cases, tunnel vision to get to the top of the mountain. (That’s a Capricorn reference, for those of you who get it. Capricorn’s archetype is sort of a mountain goat. Hard working, strong, determined, undeterred).

Great things and huge changes just don’t suddenly appear out of thing air. This is our year of labor and diligence and hard work and discipline.

Collectively, as we hold our leaders feet to the fire and personally, as we quit whining and waiting for our knight in shining armor to rescue us.

It’s time to work with what we’ve got and to work toward what we would like to change, but in a coordinated and sensible manner.

2017’s primal scream of rage is over. We’ve cried ourselves out:). Now, we must pick ourselves up, put on our lipstick and figure things out.

Personally, professionally, financially, mentally, spiritually; we must look at our health, our money, our habits and begin to deal with our rage in a healthy way.

The chaos around us continues, but we have to find our safe, sacred space to merely watch and observe and then, act in a sane and productive way.

Pragmatism demands that we have clarity and focus. We can’t deal with ‘what ifs’ this year. That kind of thinking exhausted us and fed the chaos.

This is about standing firmly on the earth, feet planted as a strong foundation and withstanding those hurricane force winds of change and turmoil.

Gird yourselves, heal yourselves, strengthen yourselves. We have a long and bumpy road yet to travel, my loves. That’s just the reality right now.

What the hell are we thinking?????

I tend to be pragmatic and I try to be proactive.   These are the two “p’s” that are currently propelling my philosophy.  Okay, I guess that’s 4 “p’s”.

Last year at this time, I was focusing on defining my spiritual life and after a fair amount of reading, thinking, writing and arguing I’m not much further along in that journey.  But, I’m glad that I took a proactive approach and began a foundation for a spiritual life.  I now know what what doesn’t work for me.  I have a hard time with ‘hope’ and ‘faith’; reality and human nature seem to make so much more sense and even though humans are squirrely and erratic, we all have some things in common.

We all have that ‘fight or flight’ mechanism.  We have a huge capacity to love and to hate.  We have basic survival needs: air, water, food, shelter, a smart phone.  We think we’re right and those who disagree with us are wrong.  We follow the rules and we break the rules, depending on the circumstances.  We know that we shouldn’t smoke, drink to excess, eat too much, drive too fast, watch lousy, soul-sucking reality shows, gossip, or hurt other people’s feelings and yet, we do.  So, knowing all of that, how proactive is hope or faith?  People are gonna do, what people are gonna do.

If that sounds sad or depressing to you, let me explain.  We humans are a messy, imperfect bunch.  Some of you may rely on religion to lift you above the fray of imperfect humanity, but then we’re right back to hope and faith.  Acting human and then praying for strength or forgiveness seems somewhat inefficient to a confused, imperfect heathen like me.  We all behave badly and yet, our definition of bad or wrong behavior seems to be defined more and more along political lines.  And that’s what I really want to get to: politics.  The fifth “p”.

I’ve been a Republican since I was old enough to vote, but I’ve begun referring to myself as the “world’s worst Republican”.  I am increasingly at odds with my party’s intractable stance on abortion, gay rights, religion and even some fiscal issues.  I’ve spent many years going along with ‘the party line” and as I’ve watched and listened to my party’s leaders for the past couple of years, I’ve realized that they no longer are in sync with my core beliefs.  I suspect that many Democrats are thinking the same thing about their party.

Both ends of the political spectrum have lost their minds.  The GOP is on the wrong side of history, when it comes to gay rights, abortion rights and their religious litmus tests.  The Democrats are in denial in about cutting spending, government waste and entitlement programs.  Both sides are full of crap when they say that special interests and huge amounts of money are only buying influence for the other party.

The bottom line is this:  all of politics is about money and influence.  The Tea Party has sounded the alert, as have the (too few) articulate members of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  The left thinks that business is too powerful, while the right thinks the government is too powerful; both of them are right.  Money and politics are so tightly intertwined that we can’t blame one side or the other. They are conspiring to enrich and empower each other.  The two protest groups have a large swath of commonality.  They’re both right; the American people are getting the shaft.

So, let’s try a little pragmatism and proactivity, shall we?  I’m challenging you to sweep aside the dogma of your political tribe.  Question the nonsense that the pundits, political leaders and the talking heads expound.  It’s not a matter of rich vs. poor, Democrat vs. Republican, left vs. right, religious vs. not.  It’s a matter of all of us questioning the nonsense that we have swallowed from our leaders for a very long time.  Both sides are to blame, as are we, for not thinking clearly; for allowing ourselves to be told what to think and how to react.  We are being manipulated by fear, hate, ignorance and laziness.

Heck, take a little time to think and challenge ALL of your core beliefs.  Political, religious, personal, financial, professional.  Life is about evolution and re-evaluation and finding what works and what doesn’t.  Be proactive and pragmatic. Figure out what’s working and what isn’t. Start with my two p’s and see where you end up.

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