By: Alex
ByWe’re in the last Mercury Retrograde of the year and it’s in full swing. I first started feeling it on December 5, a few days before we entered “The Storm.” So far it has been living up to its reputation. Everything feels slow and there are problems and delays all over the place.
My biggest concern when Mercury goes Retrograde is having enough money. So generally speaking that’s my first priority. This is the first time I ever got a payday loan when I didn’t think I really needed it. It felt really strange. Well it turned out to be a good thing. We went to dinner with my girlfriend’s family and I was also able to buy a few Christmas presents as well.
Then yesterday I went to get my paycheck. What an adventure that was. The office had been waiting for them since the day before. The checks were “guaranteed” to be delivered by 2PM but I heard my boss on the phone at 2:15 with the delivery company, explaining that it was past 2 and the checks still were not there.
I went to get some lunch and when I came back I heard that when my boss asked to speak to the girl’s supervisor, she hung up on him! I went and got my check today but got some more surprises when I tried to wash the car. The carwash I usually use was backed up due to the nice weather, so I tried to get a carwash when I got gas. When I finally got up to the carwash, the machine would not recognize my card and I had to get a refund. The cashier said the line for the carwash had gone around the building since 10 am. I ended up going to a manual carwash down the street.
While we can’t generally change the circumstances we are in, it is often useful to try to change our attitude or emotional state. One way to do that is to change what we focus on. Sometimes I will do or say stupid things around people who are in a bad mood just to break their state. It really helps. When I worked in a manufacturing plant a few years ago, I found for that if you take the empty part trays out of the buckets (that had soapy water in them) and put them in front of the fans, you can blow huge bubbles! That’s always guaranteed for a laugh and a few weird looks from the other employees.
Another time, I was talking to an ex-Marine at work. We were both bored. So I took a box and put it on my head and saluted him. He put his rubber gloves on his head and saluted back. Just then, my boss walked out of her office and gave us both the strangest look. “What are you doing?” she yelled. “Saluting!”, I yelled back. You had to be there.
Well, you know the saying – When God gives you lemons, make lemonade. Mercury Retrograde is always a good time to go over things you have done and correct your mistakes. It’s just incredible to me how there’s this meticulous energy that allows you to slow down and go over things with a fine-tooth comb. It’s good to try to learn how to use this energy to improve things, and just knowing about how Mercury Retrograde affects situations can help to avoid problems.
For example, knowing to look for problems and delays during this time can help you refine your decision making abilities and you can look for alternatives like I did with the car wash. Other habits I have cultivated are to look for other things to do while you are waiting, and to develop patience when things are not going the way you expected, and compassion for other people who are having a hard time.
Last night for example, a woman showed up at the dealership where I work. She had just driven nonstop from Montana to Colorado and was excited because she had just bought a brand new car. I tried to help her find it. She said “I did a good job. That’s a really nice car.” I was glad that I could help her to finally see it after all this time, even though she had to come back the next morning to pick it up. It was a very nice unexpected event during a very difficult time.
