You might be finding this time a little intense if you have busy lately and haven’t had much time to relax, and just be. If you’ve been bottling up feelings, they just might be leaking out, and that’s OK, (although I know it may not seem like it). With both the sun and the new moon in the watery sign of Cancer, you might need to take a little extra care of yourself today. Cancer is the most nurturing of all the signs, so it’s the perfect time to honor your needs (especially when it comes to the feeling realm).

I know I’ve been feeling a little run down, needing some extra rest and relaxation, but it’s my fiery nature’s first impulse is push on, keep going and just keep doing all the things! Fortunately the universe has been on my side, and even though I was supposed to work a double, I was cut for both of my shifts. However, instead of being grateful for the opportunity to rest, I thought I should get as much running around done as possible, so I would have more time to rest tomorrow! That doesn’t really make much sense when I break it down though, since I need the rest right now and I don’t want to do anything!

Thing is though, when there are things I could be doing, I always feel guilty spending time just chilling out. I start “shoulding” on myself. You should do this, do that, etc, etc.

I forget that sometimes you need to do nothing, to be able to do everything. I know from experience how if I take the time to relax, my energy to do all the things comes rushing back to me, but I still forget, or perhaps, refuse to believe that I need some downtime. I have a deep seated fear of being lazy and not accomplishing anything.

New moons are a potent time to plant seeds of intention, so today I am choosing to accept and honor my need for chill time, releasing the guilt associated with ‘doing nothing’, and remembering that recharging my batteries is a completely acceptable way of passing time. It’s not ‘being lazy’, it’s spending time nurturing myself!

I choose to align myself with the element of water that surrounds me today and float along with the current, rather than struggling against it (good advice if you’re ever caught in a rip tide, by the way).

I choose to delve back into my love affair with Tao, and the principle of Wu Wei (effortless action), which coincides so beautifully with my love of the flow arts. Flow is effortless action, and it’s what we aim for when spin our props and what I try to do in the rest of my life as well. Flowing effortlessly, with grace and ease, allowing what is to simply be, surrendering to the moment, rather than fighting to control actions or outcomes. I know when I do this when I’m spinning my movements become a graceful dance that feels better than anything I else I’ve ever experienced. The same holds true for when I relax and flow with the way life takes me.

Resistance creates tension, wheras relaxation and surrender create both peace and strength!

The story I remember most vividly from my Taoist studies in university is about the strength that comes from Wu Wei. Our teacher asked us, which is stronger, rock or water? Rock may seem like the stronger material, heavy and unyielding, but place a boulder in a river where the water just flows around it (taking the path of least resistance, effortless action), that water will eventually wear the boulder down to a grain of sand.

Today, rather than doing all the things that I “should do”, fighting my feelings and desires, I’m just going to float and let myself feel the way I feel, nurture myself, body, mind and soul, and maybe take some extra time to play.