With the commencement of this new moon in Virgo (my sun sign, the fixer, and also a mutable sign), it seems like a perfect opportunity to point out what needs fixing. Indulge me, for a moment, if you would.
Virgos get a bad rap sometimes for being overly critical, but the truth is we have a special affinity for recognizing details in patterns, seeing stuckness in systems, and seizing on minute opportunities to shape those systems into something healthier and more productive. And what I see on a regular basis, are thousands of missed opportunities to improve our health and well-being.
See, every day is made up of moments. Thousands of them. Tiny little moments in every day. From the moment we wake up, to the moment we dissolve back into our subconscious mind at the end of the day. Moments that can shape our experience of living in a more intentional way. Moments that can help us get unstuck.
Maybe it’s deciding to go on a walk. Maybe it’s deciding to take a nap. Maybe it’s deciding to say sorry for being a jerk. Maybe it’s deciding to open that book you’ve been meaning to read for forever. Maybe it’s deciding to enroll in that class. Maybe it’s deciding to just sit still. All moments, just waiting to be recognized and acted on.
In fact, neuroscience research out of Queen's University estimates that each day is made up of roughly 6,200 distinct "thought worms" - moments where the brain shifts from one thought to the next. Separately, Daniel Kahneman's research at Princeton on how we evaluate our experiences, found something related but different: we don't remember whole days or events - we remember a handful of standout moments (a peak, an ending), and we let those overwhelm everything else. And a classic 1983 study by neuroscientist Benjamin Libet found that the brain begins preparing to act a fraction of a second before we're consciously aware of deciding to - and even so, Libet himself argued this still leaves room for a conscious "veto," a chance to stop or redirect an action that’s already in motion.
Put together: thousands of moments in each day to influence our health and well-being. And the Virgo in me says, look! Listen! There’s some real opportunity here! In fact, 6,200 opportunities to be exact.
With that in mind, will it be mushroom coffee or regular? Maybe a combo?