Note: This week’s message came in early! Divine timing always trumps regularly scheduled programming, and I hope you find unexpected joy in this surprise Wednesday edition.
There is so much we don’t give ourselves credit for.
If a colleague asked me what I did last weekend, I might say that that I did nothing. And in one sense, that would be true. Because I didn’t run any workshops, I didn’t consult any clients, I didn’t write any posts. So with immediately evident economic productivity as the measuring stick, I did in fact do nothing.
But there is, of course, another answer I could give. Because there was so much I did last weekend, from flying a kite in the crisp autumn breeze and organizing an immersive moon landing experience to making a tangerine birthday cake with my kids and hosting a party at the playground for ~75 people. I also exercised, exchanged funny voice messages with friends and SLEPT. I even found a few minutes to stare at the wall.
But somehow none of this “counts.” Daily actions like bathing, getting dressed, eating, and cleaning up don’t count either. Even pooping doesn’t count. This is so because we are taught to value ourselves by the work that we do, and we are asked to consider this work solely through the prism (prison?) of material achievement.
This approach is epitomized in the idea of a billable hour, the currency of success in professional service firms. In this model, the only time that counts is the time you spend actively generating work product. The clock stops as soon as you put down your pencil, and there is no appreciation for all of the things you did before or after to make those focused moments of application possible. We know we do this kind of work better when we take ample time to relax and tune in to the bigger picture, but still we don’t count it.
If this kind of work is all we’re willing to give ourselves credit for, the world very quickly becomes a funny place. I might go to the office in pajamas because it saves me from the trouble of putting on clothes. I might put on a diaper because it saves me from the hassle of going to the bathroom. I might get a feeding tube because it saves me from the persistent necessity of eating.
When we engage in this sort of selective appreciation of our efforts, we become incomplete. We undervalue ourselves and our contributions to the world, and we fail to see the wholeness of what we have to offer. We forget that the work of being ourselves occurs in every moment, that we bring all of who we are to every experience we create. And, perhaps inevitably, we fall to pieces.
I look up in the skies right now and I know that it’s time for us to put ourselves back together. Today we will witness a Solar Eclipse in Libra, the honeyed celestial home of higher harmony. Solar Eclipses are awesomely amped-up New Moons, and they mark times of tremendous (and tumultuous) transformation. If a regular New Moon is like turning to the next page of your life, a Solar Eclipse is like turning to the next chapter.
This particular Solar Eclipse aligns with the South Node of the Moon, which invites us to dissolve the energetic restraints that hold us in a place we no longer wish to be. In Libra, we’re being asked to release calcified mental and emotional patterns in our relationships - both with the other people in our lives and the parts of ourselves we see as other. And if we are brave enough to put the contents of our subconscious on the mediating table, we can make a more enlightened choice about what belongs there.
This is, in fact, the best way to work with energy. Maybe it’s even the only way. Because we don’t create our lives with just the parts of us we can see, we do it with all of us. Everything counts. So what does your life look like when everything counts? How do your relationships evolve when you give equal weight to how someone else sees things? How do you grow when you pause to appreciate the value of everything that you do?
It’s amazing how clarifying it can be to contemplate your life with conscientious gratitude. You’ll swiftly see where your perspective is out of whack, and you’ll readily release the stagnant stories you’ve been telling yourself about how things need to be. Because as this Solar Eclipse is here to remind us, there is always room to be more inclusive in our ever-expanding universe.
We can also embrace this approach with a worldly lens; we can choose to support those who do the unbillable work. As I write this, I am - yet again - struck by how little value our society places on care-giving. In a myopic paradigm where profit maximization is paramount, there is no space to account for work that doesn’t fit on a spreadsheet. So I want you to rest assured that care-giving counts. The meals you cook, the clothes you fold, the cards you send, the band-aids you stick, the hugs you give, the love you share - it all counts.
When we send out this message, we change the world. Because the more you say it, the more you see it and the more you become it. The wonderfully synchronous way of Our Universe has already showed me this firsthand.
and I were exploring Libra energy last week (more on this some day soon), and the words “Everything Counts” dropped into our shared awareness at the same moment this brilliant message arrived in my Inbox from my adorable friend and colleague Robin. As she says: Everything you do counts. Everything you’re doing counts. And keep going.As we all move forward into the next versions of ourselves, please know that you got this. These coming days have a heavy imprint; Pluto is imploring us all to drill into the depths of our souls, and at times you may find yourself needing to face some of your most fundamental fears. It’s a chance to connect with your courage, to become more of yourself, to feel the infinite love that makes your heart beat.
If you need a helping hand, my colleague Tamsin and I can show you how to consciously move through your fear into the love that (always) lies beneath. We’ll come together in an online workshop next Friday at 1 pm London time as Pluto stops in the sky, and we’ll walk you from Fear to Love in a supremely safe space. One of the most fascinating things about the work that I do is that I get “previews” of the energy to come when I tap into it with my words, and this is what gives me the insight I now have to share with you. So in a very real way, I want you to know that I’ve been through it and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Love,
Patrick
From Fear to Love: Workshop with Pluto in Capricorn
Friday, October 11th @ 8:00 am ET / 1:00 pm UK / 2:00 pm Europe
Attend Live or Listen Later
Profound, permanent change is in the cosmic cards for all of us this autumn, and the fear you feel in your bones wants to guide the way. As scary as the world might seem, you can learn how to listen to this fear in a safe space with spiritual astrologer Patrick Geary & master healer Tamsin Rachel. We’ll harness the intense transformative prowess of Pluto to melt despair into hope with embodiment exercises, group meditation and energetic alchemy. You’ll leave filled with love for yourself and blessings for all here on Planet Earth.
Sign up here to attend live or watch later, you’ll get the full benefits of the experience no matter when you tune in. Suggested Contribution: £22