This is a discussion on accepting rewards for something we might not whole heartedly support. Here I’m thinking of rewards as 8th house content, as an energetic exchange. This blog was inspired by Sabrina over at Monarch Astrology when she said:
The change has to come from within right? As long as a system allows or rewards the behavior that aligns with an artificial, manmade structure of reality – well then you have people who buy into the system who meanwhile may even see what it is they are doing but have no motivation yet to effect any change (“it’s just the way things are”). This lasts until it doesn’t…
I’m going to add this remix to her idea, and I hope it’ll get you thinking.
Taking rewards to support structures you don’t really believe in can take many forms, and have a host of undesirable and far-reaching consequences:
*Accepting a compliment on your looks when you’d rather be noticed for the content of your character.
*Accepting a paycheck for a job you don’t actually like doing.
*Settling for receiving any attention at all in a relationship, when you’d rather have more quality attention, or a different kind of attention.
*A night of entertainment in front of the television, instead of working for the satisfaction that would come from figuring out what would make your life more pleasurable in a deeper sense.
*Accepting the status that comes from society’s sanctioned avenues of achievement, when you have your own thoughts on what it means to be a meaningful member of society.
*Evaluate your life and pick your poison here.
Of course, there are times when we need to accept an energetic exchange that might not meet our standards. And then there are times when the way we respond to the rewards does not imply collusion with them or the system they are a part of.
I contend that in those times, it is our personal responsibility to raise the bar on the energetic exchange we’re willing to participate in. This takes shape tangibly by having a very specific vision for a different way of being, and holding it until it comes through in the physical world. This, in turn, happens through your own personal labor toward that vision.
In this era of Uranus square Pluto, this is a crucial message not only to hear, but to begin to act on in a very real way.
Yours,
Ichrak