Avoidance

Originally published in Homestead Apothecary's newsletter in the Wise Words column on May 3rd 2016

I can’t speak for anyone else, but the current astrological retrograde situation is making itself known to me with a ferocity. Mars has hit me the hardest, but I know they are working hand in hand with Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn. By the time you read this, Mercury will have joined the Committee of Cosmic Forces Reminding You That You May Not Have Handled It Fully The First Time. As the layers of lessons are unveiled to me, it is becoming abundantly clear that Avoidance and Procrastination will no longer be tactics I am allowed to employ. The Universe is showing me they are no longer the right tools for the job. I must proactively tend to my own logistical garden if I am to go to the next level in my life. As with the release of any coping strategy that no longer serves me, I am sending my deepest gratitude to this pair of qualities for protecting me and keeping me safe when I needed them for survival. I am setting clear boundaries in my release, telling them that I am no longer supported by their presence and there is no room for them in my psyche. Next, I am charged with working with new tools, and making my use of those tools so habitual that they begin to fill the void created by the eviction.

Avoidance is one of the most common damaging habits that folks have around finances. Symptoms of avoidance may include, but are not limited to: not doing bookkeeping for your small business or side hustle, not knowing your passwords to websites where you could be tracking financial information, not knowing how much money you have in your accounts, not knowing how much you owe in credit card or student loan debt, letting bills default or go into collections before handling them, or not filing tax returns because you know you owe money. Apathy toward money or “spiritual” aversion to thinking about it is another version of avoidance, convincing yourself that money isn’t important so you don’t have to look at it. This sometimes creeps up when you have enough money that you aren’t confronted on a daily basis with financial decision making. Sometimes, we avoid something because we don’t want to know the truth. Sometimes we avoid it because we want to pretend there isn’t an issue in the first place, that there is no truth to know.

The thing about avoidance is that it does absolutely nothing to solve the problem. Generally, the problem still takes up just as much space,  even if you have your back turned toward it.  When I avoid a problem, I still have to manage the symptoms in my day to day life. I will still be living with that poor credit score, or paying to get my car out of impound because I had too many unpaid parking tickets. The issue is still demanding my energy and attention, but it is all flowing towards managing the symptoms rather than healing the root cause of my financial woes. While holding that we can only heal when we are ready, the unhealed parts of our finances make (often harsh) demands on us every day. This earth journey, this human journey, demands that we prioritize our physical needs and the sources we draw upon to provide for our bodies and the bodies of our families. This earth journey demands that we heal our finances if we are to build a sustainable path forward, evolving into our potential.