3/14/2016

Today's Horoscope

All signs:

Today you might find yourself feeling sad. Let's face it, there are a lot of things in life to be sad about. So go ahead and be sad for a while. Somewhere along the way we seem to have gotten the idea that we should be happy all the time.

We especially hate seeing those we love feeling sad. We are constantly trying to cheer up our friends, significant others, our children, even complete strangers. It's as if we can't stand to see someone looking sad. A sad looking puppy will push our emotions into overdrive.

Being sad is part of life, and an important one. It helps us work through grief or problems. It can connect us more deeply to others and ourselves. Through sadness, we can examine why and how we feel like we do, and figure out just what is important us.

When we immediately rush to eradicate sadness in those around us, we are usually doing more harm than good. You are rewarding sadness with attention, and that can create a situation where someone correlates being sad with love, so they subconsciously (or very consciously) act sad to get your attention. Trying to cheer someone up can also have the opposite effect you want. If someone feels bad to begin with, your constant efforts to make them feel better can actually make them feel worse. It can put pressure on them and make them feel guilty, like they are bringing you down with them.

Being sad from time to time also helps you appreciate when you're not. It tells you what things you might need to change in your life, and what people and situations to avoid. Sadness is a tool, a warning mechanism, a way to bond, a force for positive change. In some areas it should be encouraged rather than eradicated. It is better to be sad and empathetic than it is to cut off your emotions and not care at all. Repressing your emotions is not usually a good thing.

That said, if you are sad all the time, you might have something else going on and need to talk to someone. There's no shame in that at all. If everything makes you sad, you are either in a really bad situation or you're not seeing things rationally. Whichever it is, it has to change.

So if you are sad now and then, embrace it and examine it and let it do its thing or figure out if it's because of some behavior or decision in your life you can change. If someone you know is sad now and then, tell them you love them and let them know you are there if they need you without being demanding or judgmental. Let it run its course so you don't stunt yourself or others.

You might find that being sad occasionally is part of the path to being happy.

Capricorn:

How many shows do you need on your dvr? If you haven't watched them by now, you're not going to.