Make You Better

Wednesday February 19, 2025

– Disseminating Moon Phase – share, demonstrate, teach, learn, feed back, distribution

– Retrogrades in 2025 – 

• Mars – December 6 – February 23

– Moon in SCORPIO – 

– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) February 17th – 19th – Can Fruits and Vegetables, Go Hunting, Jar Jams/Jellies, Mow to Slow Growth, Prune Trees

– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – February 17th – 19th – Start seedbeds. Good days for transplanting. Plant carrots, turnips, onions, beets, Irish potatoes, and other root crops in the South. Lettuce and other leafy vegetables will do well.

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: – 20 ARIES: a young girl feeding birds in winter

– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Kali – The Destroyer

– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Seth, God of the North, God of Enlightenment

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in AQUARIUS SUN/MOON – – SUN – 10 AQUARIUS: a popularity that proves to be fleeting (EARTH – 10 LEO: early morning dew)

SUN – 02 PISCES: a squirrel hiding from hunters

EARTH – 02 VIRGO: a large white cross dominating the landscape stands alone on top of a high hill

I have not been in a happy place recently. There are things and people and circumstances in my life that are weighing me down. Some if it is the hurt of physical pain. Others are deep emotional sorrows.

We all can get this way as we go through life. Pain is inevitable. Suffering is a choice. You must be able to look at yourself and ask, “Where do I go from here?”

Now I cannot ever hope to offer the solution to deep depression or other psychological woes. Myself, I have only been in that seriously dark place in my life twice. And both were after the loss of loved ones.

But there is much you can do to work on those lesser times of woe. Those that get you down but won’t keep you down. And with a little encouragement make turn a case of the blues into a brighter time. Or even move you from a place that could drive you deep into one more manageable.

So I would like to share some of these pick-me-ups. Mostly because i want to do them myself – to Pick-me-up.

Listen to Music

To me, music has the ability to reach deep in my soul and lift me when I am down. I’m creating a list here of positive and uplifting songs. Some stolen from a list and others pulled off the top of my head. So here is a few:

Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys

Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles

I Can See Clearly Now – Jimmy Cliff

Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen

Let’s Go Crazy – Prince

Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz

I Gotta Feeling – The Black Eyed Peas

Good Life – OneRepublic

Make you Better – The Decemberists

Hero – Family of the Year

Firework – Katy Perry

Beautiful – Christina Aguilera

Not a long list. Nor a complete list. But they are all songs that have put me in a better place. They are songs that at times have taken up residence in my head and stayed with me for a while.

As an aside, I am one of those people who always have a song in my head. It’s a pretty awesome thing when it is something from like Led Zeppelin 1, but quite inconvenient when it is a some sung by Miss Rachael. My only recourse when i find myself in that second position is to turn on a radio or put on a song. 🙂

Do Something

When life has you down, often times the blues can affect you physically. To change this, you have to do something. Anything. I came across this list of 50 things to do to make this world a better place. This seems like a good time to share it.

Its author, Janine Defontaine from https://reflectionsfromaredhead.com/ states it:

Here are 50 small ways you can help make the world a better place. This is not an exhaustive list, but it highlights some ideas that everyone can take part in.

Just think about it.

If we all did one small thing now and then, such as making a change, doing something to make a difference or a random act of kindness, imagine the impact we could have on the world!

Small changes. Daily moments of kindness. LITTLE things. 

They matter

50 Small Ways You Can Help Make the World a Better Place

1. Reuse, recycle and donate
2. Write someone a thank you note (it could even be anonymous!)
3. Tell someone they did a good job. Better yet, tell their boss!
4. Give up your seat to someone on the bus or train
5. Step through life with honesty and integrity
6. Adopt a rescue pet
7. Pass along your knowledge by mentoring someone
8. Decrease your environmental footprint
9. Do what you love. That alone will inspire others
10. Spend ‘unplugged’ time with your kids. Give them 100% of your attention
11. Start a worm farm at home – it’s amazing how many different types of things worms can eat, with the byproducts going back into your garden to feed your plants!
12. Forgive
13. Sprinkle kindness like it’s confetti
14. Donate blood or plasma
15. Have fun. There’s way too much seriousness in the world, and by you leading the way, others might just have fun too!
16. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you
17. Don’t litter
18. Support your local arts and music scene – get out to see some live bands or musos perform
19. Listen without passing judgement
20. Read and share positive stories, stories of hope, resilience and love
21. Instead of driving, walk, ride or catch the bus
22. Focus on the positive
23. Don’t listen to, or participate in, gossip (on or offline)
24. Grow your own fruit and vegetables
25. Give gifts without the expectation of anything in return
26. Cook someone a hearty meal, either in person or leave it on their doorstep
27. Be a responsible pet owner. Keep your cat inside at night
28. Create. Paint, sculpt, draw, knit, write a poem, or produce a song
29. Say thank you
30. Don’t judge others. Remember, you have no idea what is going on in someone’s life until you have walked in their shoes
31. Express gratitude often. I like to make gratitude a habit!
32. Share your knowledge with someone
33. Smile and say hello to everyone you pass on the street
34. Volunteer
35. Ditch fast fashion and embrace the slow fashion movement
36. Compost
37. Send people Birthday and Christmas cards in the snail mail
38. Drive patiently. It’s not a race. And put away your phone. You don’t need it when you drive!
39. Give an elderly person some of your time – sit, talk, listen
40. Please pick up your dog’s poop (my personal pet peeve!)
41. Create a bee and bird-friendly garden
42. Be more considerate of others
43. Pay it forward. i.e. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in the queue
44. Travel respectfully
45. Don’t buy trashy magazines or click on click-bait headlines
46. Help someone carry their shopping bags to their car
47. Research and get involved in sustainability programs in your local neighbourhood. If there aren’t any, start your own!
48. Learn about other cultures, faiths, ideas, languages, people, history
49. Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. All of the time
50. Ask someone how they are and mean it. Give them your full attention when they respond – practice active listening.

My reason for sharing this was not to make the world a better place. But instead to lift you up if you need it. The making the world a better place part is just a bonus. Thanks Janine!