{"id":51276,"date":"2011-12-30T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T05:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=51276"},"modified":"2011-12-30T19:48:08","modified_gmt":"2011-12-31T00:48:08","slug":"looking-back-envisioing-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/astro-daily\/looking-back-envisioing-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking back, envisioning ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Ice sculpture and photo by Sally J. Smith, www.greespiritarts.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today is Friday, Dec. 30, <\/a><\/strong>and this is the last Daily Astrology post of 2011. At the time of this writing, I\u2019m sitting at my desk, the light is fading outside, and I am wondering \u2013 yet again \u2013 where this afternoon went. It\u2019s a hologram in miniature of the year, I suppose: I\u2019m not sure where that went, either. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

In many ways, my 2011 has been marked by struggle and the unnecessary expense of energy. And yet I know I\u2019m not seeing the whole picture if I stop there. Love and beauty and joy have been regular companions, as has growth. If you had asked me a year ago if I could do what I\u2019m doing these days, I would have said no and thought you were nuts. I know that I am using my creativity much more than ever before and learning new skills; that others depend on me much more; that I understand much more about myself than I did a year ago.<\/p>\n

From what I read here on the blog and hear from my friends, most of us are feeling a charged mixture of uncertainty and newfound confidence, edginess and a sense of being at home in our skins, anticipation and hesitation, feeling cornered and feeling spacious — about almost everything. <\/p>\n

For me, something about 2011 has felt like the trash compactor scene from the original Star Wars movie<\/a>. No sooner do I leave one crisis for safety, but I find myself in the next, trapped in a box filled with junk that isn\u2019t mine, its murky waters hiding unknown creatures that will drag me (and maybe others) down if I don\u2019t seek help, and the walls are closing in. But hey \u2013 at least I\u2019m with friends, and they\u2019re in the same boat. I\u2019m not alone. Kicking and screaming gets me nowhere, but once a clear line of communication is established, friends with a different perspective can facilitate some breathing room.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Perspective; maybe that\u2019s what this weekend, this turn of the calendar has to offer more than anything else. You might be looking back on 2011 and seeing a lot of difficulty, pain, challenge, loss \u2013 maybe even hopelessness. We\u2019ve been though a lot, personally and collectively. We\u2019ve witnessed great damage to our planet and great damage to our emotional bodies and our trust. The question is, is that really the hallmark of this year?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also witnessed great beauty, joy, new community, opportunity for transformation and a sea change of collective energy whose tide is only beginning to turn. I think that the old water is still on its way out. From Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, we are seeing actual movement toward clearing out what is stagnant, to release it and let it recede. I don\u2019t think the tide is ready to come back in yet; we still have more to wash away, more beach to uncover and reclaim first. We\u2019ll need to be paying attention for that moment of low tide, because at that point, it will be up to us to be sure the water flowing back up the beach is clean, fresh, alive. I won\u2019t say \u2018pure\u2019 — even the ocean is not pure. But it will need to be supportive of life, and that means supported by us. <\/p>\n

Having potential can be challenging; paying attention is a big responsibility. We\u2019re being asked to see from outside our usual box (or trash compactor). Once we can see out of it, we need to find ways to live outside of it \u2013 ready or not, we\u2019ll be coming out of it over the next several months. This will take creativity, faith, imagination, vision. It can be impossible to fathom when you\u2019re inside the box, pushing on the walls and yelling at those who would help if they could. We\u2019ll need to float above to see better; to be receptive to subtler tools of communication; to accept help even when we cannot see who or what is actually offering it. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ll need to distinguish getting out of the box from running along the edge. Yes, there is risk, but it may be more like taking the back roads through the woods, where we can\u2019t see around the bend, rather than balancing on a cliff, where the view is wide open. That is to say, it may be that 2012 is asking us for clarity in our faith more than the clarity of our convictions. We can\u2019t actually see where we\u2019re going, but we can envision where we\u2019d like to go, even if we\u2019re not sure how we\u2019ll get there yet. Being present, in whatever direction or dimension the moment stretches out in, matters \u2013 as does recognizing when you\u2019re staring at self-constructed walls.<\/p>\n

I want to thank all of you — our readers — on behalf of everyone at Planet Waves, for being present in this space, for contributing your ideas and questions, for being open in your fear and struggle and love and celebration. I also thank everyone involved behind the scenes in creating this gorgeous spot in cyber-space, this community; for carrying out this mission on a planet that needs us. We\u2019ve had many contributors and much assistance in many capacities, and I feel blessed to be working and living and loving with everyone involved. It\u2019s been quite a year; one I know I could not have navigated nearly as well without Planet Waves, complete with all the growing pains. I\u2019m actually looking forward to 2012, but not because 2011 has been \u2018bad\u2019. Rather, I\u2019m curious about all this potential, and the possibility of getting out of my own way enough to make something of it. <\/p>\n

Take a little time this weekend to reflect on the road you\u2019ve just traveled. And may the force be with you.<\/p>\n

Yours & truly,
\nAmanda Painter<\/p>\n

Looking for insights on how this week’s astrology affects your<\/strong> personal Sun and rising signs? Try out Planet Waves Light<\/strong><\/a>, our streamlined horoscope service. For deeper cultural context and astrological investigation, the premium Planet Waves subscription<\/strong><\/a> includes the same horoscopes, plus extensively-researched articles on Fridays.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is Friday, Dec. 30, and this is the last Daily Astrology post of 2011. At the time of this writing, I\u2019m sitting at my desk, the light is fading outside, and I am wondering \u2013 yet again \u2013 where this afternoon went. It\u2019s a hologram in miniature of the year, I suppose: I\u2019m not … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1734],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}