Monday, July 4, 2011

Everyone's a Leo

The astrological Sun, ruler of Leo, embodies the essential core of the individual personality in all beings. Everyone, however introvert, wants to shine at the center of their own existence. This ego is a mixed blessing, and like learning how to drive a car must be handled with the utmost of mindful care.

There is beauty and joy in the solitude of standing alone, creating, expressing and manifesting all that one is as a divine co-creator. There is ugliness and discord in the ego's need for applause, and in the competition for the spotlight. There is disillusionment in wanting an audience, admiration and applause. Ultimately, for most of us anyway, there is no appreciation coming from the masses but only from the very precious few friends who are close enough to care about our personal offerings.. and even this is fleeting/transient, not to be depended upon. While there are a few exceptions, those very big famous personalities respected by many, for most of us it is not this way and the great challenge is in recognizing and appreciating one's own inherent divine potential.

Seeking applause is a losing battle... perhaps this is why the Sun exalts in individualistic Aries and falls in approval seeking Libra. Yet the flip side is that it takes great strength to appreciate the offerings of others, without getting an inferiority complex or becoming lost in petty comparison and competition.

Maybe having a Leo natal ascendant inclines me to look at the world in this egocentric light, yet this does not make it any less true to life. I see folks on facebook presenting themselves as highly spiritual and evolved individuals, with 4000+ friends and a list of all their credentials and accomplishments. I see folks in everyday life striving for higher positions in society, and celebrities worshipped like gods. I also see a lot of very talented and intelligent people getting little or no recognition for anything. It is here that one must stop for a moment and recognize that, however worthy such individuals may be, they are no better than the rest of us who are deemed ordinary and average in the public eye. No matter how much others have accomplished outwardly, or how much social power he/she has, there is no measure for the quality of inner life, the truly important Solar (and Lunar) principle.

That power which is accompanied by humility and the absence of vanity is a true mark of success. It means not to follow anyone nor to expect followers, but to a blaze a trail that is uniquely your own, while recognizing the interdependence from which this individuality has originally sprung. It also means ignoring completely any sneers and petty judgments of which small minded folks are occasionally inclined. Most importantly, it is a kind of respect that values the individuality of all beings so that shining at the center of your own existence does not eclipse nor is eclipsed by the light of others.

IN RADIANT PURE LIGHT

Joel D Zenie