February 2023: Horoscopes for Moderns
It's all about the creative act as a way of being. And that's a book title.
HOW-TO BOOKS, self-help babble, procrastination, resistance, and avoidance—all fall under the same well-intentioned rubric.
As I mention to clients: if you're over-thinking, you're depleting the modicum of force at your disposal to engage with whatever you're thinking about.
And who cares about what planet is doing what and where?—that's another distraction (unless you’re someone who feels like they’re going to live forever, which, to be honest, is each of us—but never mind.)
‘God’ and karma and all that stuff is also a big stall tactic that replaces action.
And there's this from The Black Swan author Nassim Taleb, which would be great if it were handed out to graduates worldwide in June. (Not that I'm giving advice or anything...)
“I hesitate to give advice because every major single piece of advice I was given turned out to be wrong and I am glad I didn’t follow them.
I was told to focus and I never did.
I was told to never procrastinate and I waited 20 years for The Black Swan and it sold 3 million copies.
I was told to avoid putting fictional characters in my books and I did put in Nero Tulip and Fat Tony because I got bored otherwise.
I was told to not insult the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal; and the more I insulted them the nicer they were to me and the more they solicited Op-Eds.
I was told to avoid lifting weights for a back pain and became a weightlifter: never had a back problem since.”
Anyway. So this month, I have a recommendation for you to slip out of any creative rut you might be stuck in.
However, it’s a how-to book. (I’m nothing if not surprising and contradictory, if only occasionally.)
But this book is so fucking good.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being is by record producer Rick Rubin, and it’s as light as a breeze and as inviting as a summer night with a full Moon rising over the horizon of a giant lake.
Somehow Rubin has found a way to write a book that avoids providing ammunition for your inner critic. And that’s an amazing feat within this genre of shared experiential insights.
Rubin’s all about doing your own thing in your own way. But also getting it done. (Even if it’s just taking a nap.)
Trust me. You’ll love it. ❤️
Here are your horoscopes for February. Note: These are not rising sign horoscopes. I fashion each overview by considering your Sun sign.