Mindful Moments- The connection between Mercury retrograde, mud season in Vermont and gratitude, always gratitude.

Hi Soulful Friends, 

Mercury retrograde has been here for a few weeks now and has a bit more to go. To provide a brief glimpse into this phenomena, let's apply the concept of "as within, so without". This framework is also true about the sky, everything is written in the stars, "as above, so below". Mercury retrograde is another opportunity for us to learn about what is going on in our solar system and how it directly effects us and the human experience. 

So I generally like to post the blog on Wednesday mornings and I am pretty committed to following that schedule... Until this week, when Mercury retrograde decided to play with me a bit! I actually had an entirely different post planned and ready to go, but it just didn't feel right.  Throughout the weekend, I experienced a few epiphanies that shifted my intentions to write about my wildly fun, at times challenging and overall, eye-opening past weekend.

Pete and I are getting married in Vermont this July - Yay!!! We truly love the Green Mountain State and make it a point to visit as much as we can. This past trip had been planned for weeks, as we were heading up to finalize some fun wedding details. We hit the road for our mini excursion last Friday evening and we were pumped! The energy was amazing, as we were really looking forward to exploring, planning and just spending quality time together. 

So there we were, in the car after traveling for 5 hours to find ourselves heading up the steepest back hill in northern VT at 1 a.m., with no cell service in a small sedan and no warning of what we would find...

The biggest mud pit/slide that ourselves and our little car had ever seen! As we attempted to climb the mountain, the car was slipping and sliding everywhere. Our little car did not have the traction it needed to move one more inch. We tried to push it, again and again. We wanted to make it up that hill, so so badly! 

Until, a mindful moment allowed me to intuitively tell Pete to "stop." To stop completely. We put the car in park, took a few deep breaths and re-evaluated our situation. It was clear that our original plan was not going to work. So we reversed (literally drove backwards) down the hill and even though we were both exhausted, we decided that it was not the right time to brave it up the mountain. 

I was upset and I allowed myself a few moments of wallowing. The entire perfect weekend I had mapped out in my head, was not unfolding to plan. At that moment, a major shift occured:

Gratitude. 

Gratitude. 

Gratitude. 

Pete and I were safe and sound. Our car was in decent shape and we did not have to sleep in it that night! Life was treating us well. We spent minutes re-affirming our gratitude, we were okay and not stuck in the car. We did this again and again.

This is where the true story begins. 

The mud and car issues that we experienced (it did not stop at the first night, it was days of traveling through mud and dirt) reaffirmed the true purpose of not only, mercury retrograde but of life in general. 

Life does not always go as planned. There is difficulty. There is mud, dirt and rocks. At times, the mud pulls us down and we feel stuck. We may feel scared or angry. There are hills and mountains on our path. We may need to change course, reevaluate or make our way back down the mountain, just to turn around and go up again.

As this is all going on, remember the sun always rises again. Light pours out to birth nature and love into the Earth.  Water evaporates and slowly, the road becomes firm and solid.  Slowly, we get on our feet and take one step at a time to continue on our life's path. 

This is what mercury retrograde is all about. Yes, "she" has been known to mess with our transportation (case in point, mud slides and car issues galore), communication, relationships, contracts... the list goes on. But, the most important aspect of Mercury retrograde is, reflection. 

This is the time to be with the difficulty and recognize what the universe is trying to teach us. How can we be more gentle with ourselves? How much more can we let go of control and just allow our path to unfold? What can we be grateful for even (especially) in moments of challenge? 

This is a time of inner discovery. 

What is your mud this week? What is your challenge? Where do you need to change course?

Let's talk about it. I would be happy to schedule a complimentary consultation session with you. Please feel free to send me an email at alexa@aoksoulcoach.com or give me a call at 203-554-1324. 

Sending light and love, 

Alexa Katherine