Take Down the Should Master

It’s crazy out there. The traffic jam of transits, retrogrades, and eclipses make this the wrong time for pushing your little boulder up the mountains of the world. But the Capricorn New Moon is an exquisitely appropriate time to rearrange your inner world–dynamically, dramatically. It’s an especially fine time to take down your inner know-it-all. Capricorn is home territory for your inner “should” Master, the one who knows what you should and shouldn’t be doing, the one who cares what other people think and keeps your personal rulebook up to date. Sometimes this is a good thing, a wonderful thing. My poet friend calls this voice “the coach in the head,” and sorry are those lacking a strong one. They never wake in the morning to do a hundred sit-ups or recite 108 mantras after a half hour of meditation; they always leave the last knob unpolished on the rail; and they never close the big deal or in any way dazzle the boss or co-workers.

Since we’re in late degrees of Capricorn, you may have been hearing from your inner coach these past few weeks. Ask to see the rulebook he’s been clutching. Take a good look. The Capricorn New Moon is an annual event, which means that every year it’s worth reviewing the rules you use to judge yourself. Do you really need them all? What I’m proposing is the opposite of a New Year’s Resolution. I suggest that the Capricorn New Moon is the perfect time to review your expectations and toss out all the ones that have been ruining your happiness. They’re irrelevant—if, like me, you’re not anywhere near the life you thought you’d be leading when you first dreamed them up. This is not about failure. As Byron Katie says, “Reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it.” My New Year’s Resolution for 2010? Just one: To get rid of all those negative stories I’ve been telling myself for far too long.