Written in the Stars?

At the risk of sounding flaky, I'm going to confess: I decided to start this blog (and my Keeping The Farm website) because of a horoscope.

I wouldn't say that I "believe" in astrology, exactly. I just think it can sometimes be an interesting trigger for introspection. Specifically, I faithfully read Rob Brezny's Free Will Astrology every week because regardless of how the planets may or may not be aligned, I'm always inspired by his offbeat and uplifting view of life, the universe, and everything.

Seriously--if you're feeling depressed and overwhelmed by the rigors of modern life, give his website a read. I guarantee you'll feel better afterwards!

Anyway, back to my confession.

A little over a week ago, I was on the phone with my sister Donna and--as usual--we were discussing the challenges and rewards of farm life (Donna raises Maine Coon Cats and Welsh Cob Sport Ponies on her farm in northern Maine). Finances are hard for both of us right now, so we have a lot to commiserate about.

We got to talking about finding ways to generate more income. Eventually, we got around to wondering if we couldn't just put up a wish list or a request for donations on our websites. After all, there have to be some well-meaning people out there who dream about living on a farm who might be happy to give us a little help, right?

But then our deeply ingrained Yankee pride kicked in. No, we decided. That would be too "beggy" and kind of tacky. We'd muddle through some other way.

A couple days later, I got that week's horoscope from Rob Brezny in my email. For my sign, Aquarius, it said:

Consider writing an entertaining advertisement about yourself in order to attract the resources you'd like to play with. Or think about buying the domain name "showerblessingson[putyournamehere].com," then setting up a website where the world can send you business offers, marriage proposals, free gifts, and invitations to travel. The point is, Aquarius, that the upcoming weeks will be a perfect time to get very aggressive and highly specific about asking for what you need. Rev up the fun-loving parts of your imagination.

Now, most syndicated horoscopes are so generalized, the advice seems like it could apply to anyone. But Rob Brezny is different. Every now and then, he hits something so right on target with what is going on in my life that it's downright spooky.

For example, back in May 2004, Rob wrote this horoscope for Gemini, which is my husband's sign:

I lead a group called the Prayer Warriors. We petition God on behalf of people who need help in summoning divine intervention. Here's the prayer we'll be saying for your tribe in the coming months. Dear God: We beseech You to give a big, beautiful home to all Geminis who want one. If they aren't allowed to have that for karmic reasons, please grant them a comfortable apartment with no obnoxious roommates. If You can't manage that, bless them with a trailer that's free of mildew. If that's impossible, bestow on them a tent that doesn't leak and a cheap place to pitch it. If that's too much to ask, let them have their own tree house in a forest that's not too dark and scary. And if all that's out of the question, please at least help them feel at home in the world wherever they are.

We had been renting for years, waiting for "the right time" to buy. But a couple of days after reading that horoscope, we went house shopping. The first house we looked at was Ingleside. It was everything I had been dreaming of for our future home, and it was in our price range. We made an offer, and moved in by August. Thank you, Rob Brezny!

So, when this more recent horoscope specifically addressed the exact idea I'd already been contemplating, I decided to go for it. I started designing KeepingTheFarm.com.

A week passed as I honed my ideas for the website and also spent a lot of time working on other money-making ventures as well as doing the routine daily chores around the farm.

All week, I'd been turning a couple of questions over in my mind:

#1. Should I start a blog of my Keeping the Farm adventures, in addition to the website? and

#2. In light of our current financial crunch, should I try to sell off the majority of my horses (regardless of how much I might LOVE any particular horse and want to keep her), and keep only the few most valuable ones for future breeding?

Again, when this week's horoscope came in, Rob had answers for me:

It's the Season of Burning, Churning Yearning. Here are three of the most important things I've ever told you about how to get what you need. (1) If you don't precisely articulate your conscious desires, your unconscious patterns will come true instead. (2) If you want your conscious desires to trump your unconscious patterns, speak or write your conscious desires every day. (3) It's better to have three huge, soaring, potent desires than 25 puny, scrabbling, half-assed desires.

Write about my conscious desires every day? I'd say that's a "Yes" vote for doing a blog, wouldn't you?

And, metaphorically speaking, saying that having three huge soaring desires is better than 25 puny ones certainly could be interpreted as advice to keep only a few of my most valuable horses and sell the rest (even though they are anything but puny!).

Do I believe that all these things really are written in the stars? No. But when I'm facing a dilemma, I welcome good advice from a wise friend. And even though I've never met Rob Brezny, I think that his positive outlook on life qualifies him as just that.