Is Mercury Retrograde Again?

I swear I can tell when Mercury goes retrograde. It's like somebody pulls the plug on my life and nothing moves the way it should. We were talking about this on Saturday because it was our Needleworker's Group monthly meeting and everyone was talking about how they feel stuck right now. One member said she blames it on Lent --- that during Lent things seem to be more of a challenge than they are at other times of the year. I never thought about that but I mentioned that Mercury was retrograde and therefore I was frustrated. A Mercury retrograde during Lent is especially a challenge it would seem.

I actually have no idea what Mercury retrograde means. I just know that when I am going through one of those periods in my life when it seems to take twice as long to accomplish anything it usually turns out that Mercury is retrograde. For what that is worth.

This has been a strange winter for me. It is very cold (well, it's very cold for everyone) and I seem to lack any sort of confidence that things will be different. I am mindful of the fact that tomorrow is the first anniversary of my father's death so I am bearing that in mind right now. But there is something else going on --- a lack of confidence in the future of our country, for one thing. I'm really discouraged by the elections so far. It has become a contest among rich folks and consideration for the rest of us seems to becoming increasingly distant year by year. The cost of heating our homes this winter is getting increasingly painful for many. Business is more of a challenge. All the sorts of things that drain the life out of average folks.

I've always considered myself fortunate that I have so many passions in my life and I still find comfort in that. Yesterday I worked on a short story I am trying to pull together for the next Level Best Books anthology --- that's always wonderful. Then I decided to sort through a closet and get rid of a lot of clothes I just never wear anymore. And that was good too because I realized that since I've been eating healthy and losing weight, there is a lot of stuff that has worked its way to the back of the closet and can now move on to new homes.

I called my sister and we talked about cooking and her kids and sewing and the things we love. One of the joys of having a sister like Lisa, someone who is so much like me in her love of the homely arts, is that when I need a shot of enthusiasm I can pretty much always count on her. Her sewing machine has been in full gear recently and I love to hear about all her projects. She told me she and a friend have been getting together to sew from time to time. They take their projects to each others' houses and work together thus accomplishing a lot more. That's how I feel about our needleworker's group --- we spend four hours together and in that time all of us do far more than we ever would alone.

So it is a good time to finish up tasks already begun and lay low waiting for Mercury to straighten out and get things moving again. I have quite a few projects in need of attention --- both work projects and home projects. The simple truth is that the country and the weather and the world and the economy are going to do what they are going to do regardless of what I want. I can work to try to minimize their impact on me but, for the most part, I just have to learn to deal with it. We all do.

Life goes on. Spring comes. Mercury goes direct eventually and there is the promise of lilacs. Times like these are a good reminder to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and have faith. There is a higher purpose to all of this and, even when it seems unfathomable, it is still there. The Benedictines who raised me say "Ora et labora" --- Pray and work.... Not a bad reminder.

Thanks for reading.