“The Chain” Fleetwood Mac, 1977, Warner Bros.
Whoa, slow the pace…step back…(For New Yorkers, do I sound like the MTA recording on 311?) expect delays on the road ahead. Let’s remain chill as we slow down to the pace of mercury retrograde – October 4 through 25. The planet Mercury ‘slows down and appears to stop…move backward…an optical illusion since there is forward movement, like speeding by a slow-moving train –as it recedes, it appears to go backward’ (Molly Hall, Astrology Expert, 2014). Astrologers suggest that we take time to reflect, use caution when approaching contracts and commitments, slow down in general during this period, which occurs 3-4 times per year.
There have been moments where my timing did not coincide with universal flow…these were occasions when I thought I could WILL things to happen. Let me tell you that the pushback was disappointing, and at times, downright painful. I’ve learned to pay attention to a greater influence than my particular view.
I am developing the SENSE that Native Americans used on nature’s path – to pick up and gather the subtle clues that inform us of the next steps to take. (Every situation has its own nuances.) This notion is expressed in Avatar, (James Cameron, Twenty Century Fox, 2009) as well: to be one with nature, which sustains and supports us. Following this line of thinking, the HeartMath® Institute in California researched that our heart beats to the pulse of the earth: we are intimately interacting with the consciousness of Mother Earth.
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What does listening to nature have to do with my lack of timing and slowing down? Let me share my most recent adventure. Last year, my assistant approached MailChimp, (MC) the group that imports mailing lists for promotions, etc. For months, I have prepared and edited a distribution list to announce the publishing of my free e-book “Compassion In My Own Words” on Smashwords.com The process was sluggish because many other commitments took priority: family, fun, blogging, my coaching practice…you get the idea…More recently, I finally got back to designing the template (with help from my assistant) for the communication.
When we sent out a test to 18 people, we realized that the internal links were not
‘live,’ meaning that readers were unable to click the link and go directly to Lindamarsanico.com or to the URL https://lindamarsanico.com/#!DO-OR-DO-NOT-THERE-IS-NO-TRY/c1byv/7C72967A-98AC-42A0-9128-0425BD77169E
We corrected (or so we thought) this error with MC’s help and prepared to push the send button. Well, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur happened, and I realized that it’s a good idea to schedule promotional activities to coincide with audience availability, so that efforts do not conflict with holidays and events, which distract your readership. We waited.
It occurred to me that I could ‘test’ the mailing further by sending it out to two, close friends; but I resisted the idea. Why? Because I had zero patience to further delay my labors. This part of the strategy had been silent, floating in the water for so long, I thought. I just had to send it out. I felt like a five-year-old in a candy store. Had to push the send button…the candy is sweet…wanted my voice to be heard. I ignored my intuition.
In my haste, my voice was only partially heard because two of the live links were incomplete, and the link for Smashwords.com took readers to the general website – not to my personal endpoint.
How do I understand this disappointment? I hadn’t fully prepared the project …hadn’t checked out a final detail. (Post-mailing feedback from MC suggested that the links were incomplete.) I actually overrode my thought, that small voice suggesting I send a test to L and M. Had this occurred, we would have discovered that the links were unfinished!
I could view this effort as ‘imperfectly perfect,’ and the argument could fly, yet, it doesn’t feel like this category applies. It feels more appropriate to describe the misfire as a product of my impatience.
The October 6 effort was not in the flow, for whatever reason. I do know that I lacked the patience to listen and hear the clues on this path – my timing was off and the results sputtered. Let’s look on the bright side: I have another opportunity to adjust the sail and rudder of my wind-blown boat…
Speak to you on October 27th.
Linda
