Soulful Construction

Backyard tomato plants

For some reason I recently picked up the East Bay Express, skimmed through it, and then read my horoscope for the week of June 18. This is what it said:

Aquarius

Medieval stonemasons worked not just in service to the immediate structures they made. They imagined eternity, laying foundation blocks in cathedrals they knew they would never live to see completed. I think you are being invited to do similar work: soulful construction whose fruits may not ripen for a while. A provocative conversation you have soon may echo for years. A good habit you instill could become a key inheritance for your older self. So think long, wide and slow, dear Aquarius. Not everything must produce visible worth this season. Your prime offerings may be seeds for the future. Attend to them with reverence. (FreeWillAstrology)

Soulful construction whose fruits may not ripen for a while. I’m thinking literally about the tomatoes that have grown so wildly and taken over their bed and the surrounding walkway. Will they grow and ripen without much sunlight? And what about the apples on our newly planted tree? I recently learned that I should have removed some of the small apples off of the branches and pruned back limbs from the tomato plants earlier in their growth cycle.

I’m also thinking about the adult students I tutor once a week, helping them to complete their high school education. Will a suggestion that I make about writing be of some use to them later in life? What about the US History lesson on the separate but equal branches of government?

And will my coaching clients integrate a lifelong new practice or habit that they started as a result of a coaching conversation?

How are each of us in our daily actions, thoughts, and conversations creating a better world for future generations?

In the news today I read, “This is the most deeply immoral piece of legislation I have ever voted on in my entire time in Congress.”  “We’re debating a bill that’s going to cut healthcare for 16 million people. It’s going to give a tax break to…massively wealthy people who don’t need any more money. There are going to be kids who go hungry because of this bill. …” Senator Chris Murphy (D- CT)

Where is the soulful construction in the bill that is making its way through Congress now? Where is the humanity? The moral compass? These are the questions I am asking myself. For those of us who care about the rights of all people, who care about democracy, and the future of generations to come as well as our current neighbors and communities, we must stand up and make our voices heard.

In peace,

Sue

Lagniappe

Check out Rebecca Solnit's essay – “Cynicism is the enemy of action”