Surrender to the Softness
Mercury retrograde in Cancer
Welcome to Part 3 of our mini-course in heart-felt listening with Mercury retrograde in Cancer! This week we explore how to embrace your softness in the hardest of moments. In case you missed it, jump back for Part 1 and Part 2.
You rarely hear someone say they want to be vulnerable.
People aspire to be all kinds of things. They go to the gym to be strong; they go to the office to be successful; they go to the bar to be social. And - especially if you are a man - our society is very happy to support you in your desire to be powerful, rich, and well-connected.
On the many occasions I have been encouraged to articulate my own aspirations, some version of this trio has always emerged in my thinking. It makes sense, too, both because they are so deeply engrained in the Western value system and also because they speak to something more fundamental about being human. We want to feel safe. And in a place that does not practically guarantee you the resources and loving support that you (always) need to grow and develop, safety sure can look like power, wealth and an extensive network.
So it makes sense that we want these things, and I can readily acknowledge that - despite my many years of spiritual training - part of me still wants them, too. I am not here to talk you out of coveting these conventional passports to security, and both Mercury in Cancer and I want nothing more than for you to feel safe. So let’s pause to appreciate the lust for privilege for what it really is: a request for permission to open up.
I know that might sound like a big leap, so please join me on the logic train my lawyer-brain loves to follow. We want privilege because it promises us the feeling of safety we crave. And when we allow ourselves to feel safe, we stop fighting so hard to survive. We let our bodies soften and relax, and we give our breath a chance to slow down our whirring thoughts.
As we do this, we begin to become aware that there is more to life than privilege. We start to see the bigger picture, to remember that our lives are really about the love we share and not the empires we build. We laugh at ourselves because this is what people invariably say at the end of their lives, because we all know it’s true. We tune in to hear the honesty of our own hearts, and we come to live from a place where we get to openly give and receive love.
