Hi, I’m chiming in today because anytime that I sit down and spend just a little bit of time on the blog (blogging around), my mind get filled with content. So, all that meditation I’m doing is really helping, right?! WINK~ to those who hear me and know the truth of this!

I am not a big stats person. If I were, I would spend time looking at them and cultivating them. I have nothing, absolutely nothing against stats, by the way. I can also see myself becoming a stats person–just for fun. (Like, everything I do, is just. for. fun.).

But, do stats talk?

Here’s something funny. When I started my blog. I wasn’t interested in getting comments on it. Before you judge me (and I doubt that you are the type to judge) just hear me out. It was so nerve-wracking to just even be in a place where other people existed. I was sharing astrology information, my style of doing it. This was before astrology literally blew up online. This was where everyone ended up on youtube right afterwards talking about what the stars had in store. Was I doing personal readings? Yes. I had been doing personal readings for years (even decades) and I was doing them at first, very informally. You don’t need to have a long sit-down conversation with somebody to help them out. I find that even with a glance at their chart– you can offer a few brief comments (observations that can come in the format of questions) that could plant a very important seed. That seed will turn into a plant, and then blossom.

But Stats, do they talk? Comments talk.

So, anyways, I got over the issue of comments by realizing that I was here to ‘make friends’ and not necessarily sell anything to anybody. Why would I want to ‘sell,’ besides, I figured if that’s just boring me– don’t do it. YAY! Good decision. Another thing that happened with astrology is that people sometimes want to know and consult on things that I don’t find are deep questions (not so interesting to me). This may sound like a judgement and I’m sorry, but I was bored with the “How long will I be single?” or “When will I get over my boyfriend?” or questions that were more about manipulating life rather than facing it, developing oneself, etc. So, I knew I didn’t want to counsel any more at that point on astrology; at least, not to work with those questions. Also, I didn’t want to read people their natal chart and “tell them who they are.” I wasn’t into that style, either. Finally, I got bored of talking to globally about astrology: here’s what y’all should be feeling/seeing kind of stuff. Also, not really my style!

What about stats? Do they talk?

Yes. and. no.

Stats are silent and do not tell you “VALUE.” They are valuable only if you can put a number or quantity to each stat (so more stats need to be added to make stats meaningful–math people, I know yah feel me. But if you and me are anything alike–we don’t want to be a stat. Stats are how big organizations make decisions. Stats are used in public policy. Stats are big trends. But in a small world, how much do you think stats talk? Does looking at stats help you to value your own blog? Do you judge others by their stats or comment #s? It doesn’t for me. If it did–I would have stopped in 2011, the same year that I started.

However, I have gotten tremendous value from blogging. This is something that someone looking at stats, would never see. Blogging is my background, it’s my thing I do no matter what. I’m in love with blogging even more than I ever was. Why? Because:

People talk. People are fascinating. People are awesome! I am here, because of you!!! So if you are getting bored with blogging, I hope I can entice you to keep doing what you are doing, and let the moment pass. You will fall in-love AGAIN.

The reason for my REBLOGATHON in November is many. The first reason, is that I am celebrating my blog that built from March 2011 re-birthdayed in August 2022 (near my birthday) and I want to go back… and celebrate my purpose for being here. Please join me. Share your favorites.

What do you think about stats? Do they motivate you, or vice versa? Let’s be real. Please. Love you.

photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio

For anyone who read my first post with the all those typos: I am sorry. I had way too many of them. Hopefully most of them are fixed now.

I’ve been blogging here on WordPress for 11+ years with everyone! Some of you I met early on, even! You fill my heart with so much glee that I want to share that glee with the natural glee of the season. I plan to sprinkle the re-blogs with autumny-loveyness. Bringing my energy here–every day–

March 2011 was the inauguration of Fiestestrellas. Then on August 2011 I re-birthday-ed the blog. Now, I am actually gonna CELEBRATE the blog! This upcoming month will be filled with the joy I have been cultivating over the years. I will be picking through the best of the best in my previous posts, poems, drawings, etc. Then I will find time to blog-sprinkle with something colorful, unexpected, delightful, whimsical, or unsuspecting.

Dear friends, thank you, thank you for being on this journey with me. I know that this re-blog celebration is the just beginning. I was strongly nudged by my spiritual team to get this up and running as a pre-cursor for all that is to come at Fiestaestrellas.com

It is so fulfilling to be here, daily, even when I am always busier than last year! 🙂 We can do this. Also, of course, I’m gonna ask you to join me. Please re-blog for the month of November. I just know you have gems sitting on those dusty blog shelves. What are your own favorite blogs? Can you fill whole month with them? Now is the time. Sparkle and sprinkle in the autumny dark spooky nights, leaf-slide deep into autumn and prepare to rock your holidays with the best bustling and amusement coming from the comfy corners of your blog home. 🙂 JOIN ME!!! Who’s in?!

If I’m middle-aged, I spent the majority of half of my life uninterested in ritual. Growing up I felt the rebellion to any type of ritual. For one, “ritual” meant to me as an activity that most people were disconnected from. I saw those who were living their rituals as just doing them for reasons unknown, usually out of habit, or by the shear influence of their society and culture. I saw a lot of people who seemed confined to their rituals. I didn’t want that for me. I didn’t want any structure for me. That was because I didn’t *understand* structure. However, the beauty of my path led me into true empowerment to where I could make and define rituals that were truly meant for me (and now my family).

To begin with, I started to become enlightened to the meaning of ritual when I studied anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh for my undergraduate degree. I learned that ritual not only provided structure but highlighted and connected people with their purpose. This doesn’t have to be religion–which is what the word ritual used to be confined to. Fortunately ritual is related to spirituality and this is why: with ritual we are creating space for our spirits to live. Ritual helps us “house” our time.

Now, I have always been interested in astrology. But not for the conventional reasons, but maybe for some of those too. Astrology has helped me connect to time in a ‘larger than community’ way. However, it has also connected me with community. There are so ways I could assess and think through how astrology has led me to ritual, but I don’t make a stink out of ritual. I still don’t want to be confined to it-so I’m not. It’s as simple as that. A ritual can be a simple “nod” to the inner part of me that wants to acknowledge the importance of space and time.

So, back to time: here I am. I am almost all planned for 2023. On that list of activities that I am signed up for is seeing Neil Degrasse Tyson. I am over the moon excited to see Neil Degrasse Tyson in 2023. My daughter has been attending a very wonderful “science” preschool with the most amazing humans who run it whom I have ever met. I’ve always loved science. But, I am not confined to science, either.

Back to ritual: I am writing out my calendar for 2023, and I am visioning and planning in ways I would never, ever have wanted to when I was younger. I’m doing it with delight and joy. This is not work. This is definitely pleasure. The previous 5 or so years, I started looking back over the last year. Basically the first part of my life, I had no ritual for reviewing the past or moving into the future. Now, I do. There’s momentum gaining in this process, and I’m excited about what’s around the bend.

Do you have rituals or do you dream? Do you do both? How do you organize your life? My years of “letting it happen” have finally co-joined with “making it happen” in a way that doesn’t constrain my soul. I feel this immense freedom I have not felt before. A lot of that freedom is coming from a new teacher I have been working with the last 6 months. I am looking forward to sharing more. But, I’d also like to hear a lot more from you!

P.S. One of my future goals is to take my family on an ancient library tour of the world. When shall I plan it for? Maybe in my 60s… Not sure yet.