A few weeks ago, Rob Brezsny suggested that now is a good time for Aquarians to eat of a figurative forbidden fruit and take advice from a serpent. I still haven’t figured out what the hell that means.
This week, he wants us to step beyond taking advice to metaphorically embrace, ride with, play with, and learn from the serpent. This is also a provident time for other hippy-dippy tasks, such as conversing with ancestors and wrestling with high-end questions. “Dare to shed mediocre pleasures so you can better pursue spectacular pleasures,” he says. “Experiment only with smart gambles and high-integrity temptations, and flee the other kinds.”
That’s always good advice. Humans tend to indulge the lowest common denominator – trash reading, trash eating, hate watching – and the internet, with its ever-present dopamine hits, has only made this easier. I’ve made the effort to spend less time doom scrolling and skimming trashy books and more time engaged in writing and learning. I’m choosier about my downtime activities. That covers the “mediocre pleasures” so now I have to find some smart gambles and high-integrity temptations.
Finally, Brezsny offers this advice: If you challenge the past to a duel, be well-armed with the future.