Eclipses as Universal Teachers.

Restless energy, for me, is always processed and tempered through some form of exercise, both mental and physical. Whether it be as simple and low-intensity as a long walk through the bustling city where I reside, an intense session of cardio-based strength training, or putting the continuous swirl of thoughts in my brain onto paper; getting my body or mind moving is what puts my soul at ease. 

With the Solar Eclipse in Aries looming in the shadows, and its energy feeling increasingly potent as we collectively inch closer to its arrival, I find myself on the precipices of a cataclysmic beginning of new opportunities and abundance. A complex cacophony of emotions both volatile and sweet, I find myself looking anywhere and everywhere for something to keep me tethered safely to this plane of the universe. 

But, isn’t that the purpose of eclipses? To sweep you up and carry you through the inevitable, only to put you back down, landing exactly where you were destined to be? Knowing all this, it doesn’t make the season any more tolerable, digestible, or comfortable. Aching growing pains, designed to be felt with urgency; akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes, vibrant and anew. I haven't a clue how life will look at the end of it all, but I know I must wave my white flag, however reluctantly, in surrender to the process. 

What I can control is how I tend to my heart, body, and soul in these unpredictable times. I must prioritize rest and sleep hygiene, know when to say enough is enough and be still in spite of thinking I must do anything but. 

Rest is a luxury not afforded to everyone, despite it being necessary for renewal, rejuvenation, and survival. I am dismantling the beliefs instilled in me by the capitalist society I’ve been raised in, no longer seeing the concept of relaxation in a disarming light. I am rewriting the narrative that for so long I believed was controlled by a higher power, only to find that the story belongs to me and me alone. 

Realizing the power of personal autonomy is one thing, possessing the courage and will to wield it is a separate, at times calamitous hill to climb entirely. But, it is the actualization of this potential that sets us free to live life as it was intended, with each of us existing simultaneously as the protagonists, antagonists, and authors of our own unique journey’s. 

I used to fear eclipses for all of their erratic, unpredictable, and messy attributes. I now know that everything we dread about them, is really just all of its beauty and glory hidden in plain sight. We cannot control the uncontrollable, but we can find the value in relinquishing command over our own lives. This is what eclipses have taught me in the past, and what they continue to enlighten me on in the present and future. As Imogen Heap once said, there’s beauty in the breakdown.

So, let the roof, walls, and ceilings crumble, knowing that the foundation will always remain, ready to be built upon again.