Taurus: On Thoughts, Knowing, and Certainty

Welcome to the month of Taurus! The energy of this month is very special as it invites us out of our comfort zones. You don’t need to be born under this sign for the thought of discomfort to inspire feelings of dread. No one loves being outside of their comfort zone but it is exactly where we will find our growth, blessings, and expansion. This month asks us to examine where and how we are living in comfort and where and how we being asked to step out of it a bit.

Taureans are the zodiac’s creatures of comfort. For those of you born under this sign, you tend not to be overly emotional or too sensitive. You value physical beauty and seek to surround yourself with comfortable, elegant things. In love, you are steadfast and loyal. You have the innate ability to see the good in just about everything and as a result, may lack the motivation to go outside your comfort zone. After all, if it’s not broken, why fix it? Put simply, Taureans prize comfort.

When I say comfort, I don’t necessarily mean being wrapped in cozy blankets or luxuriating in relaxation. That type of comfort is certainly valued by a Taurus (or anyone!), but the comfort I am referring to is the comfort found in predictability, security, and stability. Taureans have a reputation for stubbornness because being flexible and taking risks means abandoning the comfort they find in knowing what’s coming, in feeling safe and secure. While this is understandable, it presents them with a unique challenge: learning to see the gift in plans that go awry. I’m sure we can all recall a time when our best-laid plans went out the window and we were left feeling frustrated, even angry.

When these types of moments arrive we have two choices: marinate in all the ways we believe things shouldn’t have gone or look for the gem hidden in the chaos.

Let’s look at it this through the eyes of your morning routine. You wake up in the morning and can predict, more or less, exactly how it’s going to go. You’re going to shower, get dressed, and head to work. On the way you’re going to stop at the coffee shop, you ‘know’ exactly what you’ll get, and you ‘know’ you’ll have just enough time to get to the office before your morning meeting. Easy! But wait, the road you normally take is closed. The coffee shop ran out of what you usually have. A truck is stalled on the highway. Now you’re late. You get to the office, your usual parking spot is taken, you barely make it to the meeting and as you arrive, find that the CEO dropped by the meeting. I think we have all had days like these and have ended up understandably frustrated! But our frustration comes from the comfort we find in making a plan. In the sense of control and security that that brings us.

Now, I’m not saying that plans are bad or naive, they certainly are not. However, when we become too attached and comfortable within our planning when things go a different way we end up lost in our anger and frustration even though there is so much more than we can see. When we feel the need to ruminate on why things went wrong, or we lament that things shouldn’t have gone the way they did, we are placing our focus in the wrong direction. Instead, we can look at the change of course and ask “how is this positive? What can I gain from this unexpected experience?”

Whether the answer is made clear to you or not, the asking of the question helps you to take your trust off your ideas of comfort and place it back with the Creator. Our fulfillment, happiness, and joy are not things that can be found in the external world. They are created in our inner world and made manifest in the world of effect. The physical world is simply a manifestation of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. When we look to external sources for our comfort and safety, we will always be left wanting.

This is echoed in a kabbalistic teaching that refers to the world as  Olam Hafuch which means ‘an upside-down world’. The things that are important to us turn out to be really not that important. The things that are not important to us are actually the most important. The things that worry us should not worry us. In this upside down world, what seems like a disaster may actually prove to be a great gift in the long-run. This is why when things don’t go according to plan, we can practice seeing that as a good thing. A gift, even!

Transformation cannot occur without discomfort and our purpose in this life is to transform. To go against our nature. Therefore, discomfort is a good sign! Challenges provide us with a lot of good information if we’re willing and open to look at it from all sides. When something goes wrong it’s very easy to slip into a victim mentality and miss the lesson entirely. If we can make a conscious effort not to fall into victimhood, we open ourselves up to seeing the positive. A fraught interaction or conflict may give us valuable insight into someone in our life, giving us the knowledge to avert a much greater issue in the future. Being late to that meeting might have meant dodging a car accident. This is where placing total trust the Creator, and in the process of life, becomes a powerful practice.

The next time you find yourself angry that things didn’t go your way or feeling like a victim of cruel circumstance, take a breath. Bring your awareness to the present and remember that it is happening for a positive reason, even though you may not be able to see it yet. Use the opportunity to connect more deeply to certainty and remain open to the growth, the possibility, and the chance to learn something new. In so doing, an even more authentic version of you and your life can begin to emerge. All the blessings that were trying to come down finally have a place to rest, right among the ruins of your best-laid plans.

 

THOUGHT IN ACTION

Do something to shake up your usual routine and see what thoughts and emotions arise for you. Conversely, if your plans go unexpectedly sideways and you’re feeling frustrated or angry, practice looking for the gift in the situation.