It’s finally getting cold here in the Pacific Northwest. The temperature is near zero in the morning when I take the dogs out for their walk (also known as their sniff and pull). Last weekend I cleaned out the front coat closet for the winter. This involved donating some coats that the kid grew out of, getting boots out, sorting through hats and scarves, etc. I like winter. I grew up in a place where winter was minimal at best and I’ve always liked the idea of preparing for winter, dressing for winter, etc. While we don’t have the kind of winters that necessitate putting on storm windows or swapping out car tires, there are few things that it makes sense to prepare. And preparing for things just feels good.
Preparing for winter feels especially good because last year I finally did two things I’d been needing to do. First, I bought a real pair of rain boots (not cheap ones from the grocery store that always died at the end of the season). Second, I got a coat that was both warm and water proof. See, it had occurred to me that I had coats that were water proof (squall jacket and raincoat) and ones that were warm (wool duffel coat and down)… but not one that was actually both. Which is stupid, since cold and wet is a common weather combination out here.
When you think about what you need out of life, it makes sense to ponder the different combinations. Sometimes you need warm, sometimes waterproof, sometimes both. Sometimes you need to be challenged at work, but sometimes you need work/life balance… and sometimes both. You need to be nurtured in a relationship and you also need to feel independent — you need both.
The less you think of things as a zero sum game, the better. Like “I can make money or enjoy my job, but not both.” “I can lose weight or enjoy my food, but not both.” “I can be creative or care for my family, but not both.” Instead, start by asking “how can I have both?” Now, maybe you can’t have EVERYTHING. You can make money and enjoy your job, but you still have to work hard. You can lose weight and enjoy your food, but there’s a certain amount of self-discipline involved. You can be creative and care for your family, but time management is going to be critical. You can have it all is a lie perpetuated by Madison Ave (because it’s usually: you can have it all, as long as you have [product that they want to sell you]). But you can still have “both” — you can find the intersection of that Venn diagram.
Over the next two lunar months, I’m going to be exploring ideas and tools for helping you make the coming year one of your very best. And why not? Jupiter is in Sagittarius, Saturn is in Capricorn and there’s no better time to work hard and reap the rewards (and by that I mean there’s never a better time to do that, regardless of astrological timing). So why not make 2019 the year that you do the things you keep planning on doing… but never actually do!
