5/21/19

Today’s Horoscope

Some people strive to be individuals, which is a noble pursuit. We should all examine who we are and what we do and what we associate ourselves with, otherwise we tend to stop questioning things and thinking for ourselves. We become what many people refer to derisively as “sheep”.
Everyone is looking for an identity, and in pursuing that, we can often fall into the wrong crowd, whether it’s an actual crowd, or just what amounts to a fanbase for some theology, political movement, or just some pop culture phenomenon or entertainment. Some people go to the extreme in the other direction, and they work overtime to avoid things just because they are popular. They deride people for liking something based on how many people like it, and refuse to judge it on its own merits.
The thing about sheep is that once you are in the middle of the flock, it’s hard to tell exactly what it is you actually believe and what is herd mentality. Just because you try not to be a sheep, doesn’t mean you’re not going to get swept along with them anyway. Being an individual is so hard, especially when nothing you think is actually going to be unique. Someone else out there thinks the same way you do, no matter how original you think you are.
We often rejoice when we find these other people who think like us, and before we know it, we have our own flock of sheep, many of whom were once the black sheep in another flock. No matter how much of an individual we think we are, we want to surround ourselves with people who feel the same way about things as we do. We don’t grow as individuals by only interacting with what reaffirms our beliefs, we grow by encountering things that contradict our beliefs.
So the stars think you should give sheep a break. You can be part of a herd, but live on the edges, and decide your own path if you want to. You might see some other sheep across the meadow who suit you better, and you can split your time between two or more flocks. The point is, we are all sheep to some degree, even if you can’t always see it. Make your peace with that, be self aware about it, and hang out with the right flock.