A Pain in the Ash.

So, my horoscope for today:

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "A Pain in the Ash: Volcano Irritates Alaskans." That was the headline of a news story about how the people of Anchorage, Alaska are dealing with the erratic behavior of nearby Mount Redoubt. As of this writing, the volcano hasn't exploded yet, but it keeps hinting that it might. Meanwhile, it regularly burps clouds of ash that float around and wreak a lot of inconvenience. "I would like it to have a big boom and get it over with," said one native. In accordance with your astrological omens, Gemini, let's use this situation as a metaphor for your life. The fact is, there's no sense in getting irritated or impatient with the primal force in your vicinity. Doing so would be a waste of your precious emotional energy. Besides, cultivating calm equanimity is the best way to acquire the grace you'll need to respond appropriately when the primal force does go boom.

I love getting these horoscopes because they're different than the ones you read in the paper. Rob Brezsney, to whom I was introduced thanks to my fabulous ex-boss, Karin, two summers ago, writes horoscopes that give you advice, but also incorporate literature, music, art, whatever. I love analogies. I love analogies the way I love chocolate when I'm PMSing. I love them the way I love 75 degree weather with a slight breeze. I love them like a fat kid loves cake. Which is why I love these horoscopes.

Anyway, you can sign up for them, if you want, via email. I think they're sent out once a week or once every other week. He's also been startingly accurate before, and it keeps me coming back!

The point: even a horoscope, told to me by some guy who may resemble



is telling me to find peace. Except he used the term "calm equanimity." And the need to acquire grace.

Even if you do look like the scary man with guns and two Guitar Hero controllers (I dig the wireless one myself), Rob Brezsney, you still shed insight on my life at exactly the right time. I guess this is one of those moments where the universe is telling me something, where that weird moment is finding me when I need it most.

That's my mission for .. well, the rest of my life: find peace. Find grace. Find that calm equanimity. Find something. We're all in this journey together, even if our paces are different and the shoes in which we walk vary. And maybe all the world needs is a little bit of that peace, that grace. Maybe we can find it together.

- May (every step you take be sweet).