Jonathan Cainer's Zodiac Forecasts

Faulty cheese graters!
what things do you just accept?
A big thank you to everyone who wrote.
Here are just some of the replies.

Jonathan's Thought for the Day Wednesday 29th March, that began all this...
The food processor in my kitchen has a faulty lid. To make it grate the cheese, you have to push down hard on the top. I keep meaning to get a replacement. But I only ever notice the problem at teatime. The manufacturer's office is closed for the day by then. And it is only a minor nuisance, not a major problem. So nothing ever changes. By the same token, as regular readers may just possibly have noticed, I am not impressed with the fact that the clocks went forward last weekend (in the United Kingdom). I half want to stand outside parliament with a placard round my neck. But that's going to be very dull. I'd prefer to take my cat on a tour of famous art galleries. What else in life do we accept, just because it takes too much effort to alter it? Please write in with your examples and observations.

Common sense is uncommon is the conclusion that Vici in Western Australia has come to:
"I am constantly amazed at the herd mentality of vast numbers of people. Nowhere is it more evident than when driving home in the wee small hours of the morning. A friend of mine sat a red light that was not working for about 15 minutes before proceeding. Mind you, there was no other traffic and it seemed to me mindless to just sit there waiting for the traffic signal to say: "It is safe to proceed", when conscious awareness could make the same determination. I am not advocating wholesale neglect of traffic signals, just a little common sense."
We see the seeds of regional dispute in this posting from Debbie down under:
"I'd like to see a national education process directed at teaching drivers how to merge. Sydney is pretty good at it, but Brisbane and Melbourne are shocking."
A young lady who wants to remain anonymous has some wise words for Jonathan: fix the small things is life before they grow big enough to bite you:
"I'm a young person whose parents recently got divorced. Frankly, they should have a long time ago, but they wouldn't because it would have just been too hard - all the legal hassle, dividing of property, custody, etc. So instead, they let that little problem build and build until they HAD to get a divorce - and a messy, heartbreaking one at that. I have moved away from home in an effort to heal myself of the damage done, and to let my parents heal as well.
There are some things we shouldn't ignore, even if they are small. You should fix that cheese grater before it eats you alive."
Simon in Victoria, Australia, says the real change worth making is to ourselves and we should not postpone that:
"I think the greatest amount of acceptance is placed on ourselves, but we fail to give enough time to understanding ourselves. Maybe because it takes too much effort to alter years of thought and training, or maybe because we simply are not aware of what exactly requires changing..."
Pam in Washington would like to stem the complaining and start some action:
"If I were being really flippant I would say people complain about almost everything but aren't willing to do anything about it. I am a teacher and have to listen to very direct criticisms about the school system here in America. But will anyone fund the changes? Naaaa that's too much to ask for. Our government is another example - I'm not sure about the numbers but only something like 20 - 30% of the voting population here actually votes. People only expend effort complaining, not actually doing anything."
Utama in Holland has a gripe about employment. Companies there are legally obliged not to discriminate against part time workers, but he finds it hard to get part-time work, although when he looked for a full time position he found 234 jobs!
"My reason is that I become too tired working full-time particularly in a job I don't like. I am a musician but cannot make money with it at the moment. When I complain about the situation, they tell me everybody wants to lie on the beach half of the time. If I want to grow in the company I simply have to work full-time. When I want to be a musician, they say, I should quit working altogether and be a musician but where will the money come from then?
So what I wanted to say is: I feel that these companies don't bother changing a basically wrong situation. It is easy for them that way and cheap. It seems people are just here for the companies, instead of companies being there to make our lives easier! It feels like slavery."
Howard has focuses on a burning issue:
"Well, how about smoking?"
Evading the enjoyment life has to offer is one thing we should stop postponing, writes Jessica:
"In America we get up go to work and come home, eat and go to sleep. In our lives we judge people on what they have not what they are. We never stop and think of what we really want out of life. As life goes on we want the white picket fence house with 2.5 kids and a nice SUV in the driveway. This is our conditioning.
It is like the Crosby Stills and Nash song about going to work to pay our bills; then you wake up one day and say to yourself: "What am I doing , do I really want to live like this!!"
Life is what most people take for granted. They just go through life abiding by the rules and doing what we were taught we are supposed to do. So we do not change or know our purpose because we do not want to change what we have been taught. That is why I read your astrology page because you are enjoying your work and most likely your life."
Capricorn Karin feels strongly about animal welfare:
"These are two things that I really tried hard to do something about, but eventually gave up because after spending an inordinate amount of time writing letters and articles, and making phone calls, I got nowhere:
1. Keeping birds in small cages (I actually run a small bird sanctuary: all my birds, once kept in small cages, now fly about in an aviary.)
2. Using animals for experimentation. (I just gave up my degree course in biology because I got into an argument about that.)"
Tamara in New York seems like she has the makings of a good novel:
"Hahaha! I just moved to New York a couple of months ago. There is SO much that I just don't do.
1. Buy a bed. The lumpy couch I'm sleeping on only bothers me at night (and in the morning).
2. As I only had to wear T-shirts and jeans to my job in San Francisco, I should've bought some decent clothes to wear to my new job. I can't get around to it and am forced to wear ridiculous things due to the fact that they are the only ones in my wardrobe that don't have holes in them.
3. Find an apartment. I'm now in a tiny two bedroom with three people and two dogs. Haven't even looked. Thank God we're good friends."
If we get our priorities right, Linda reckons, the bane of procrastination will abate:
"I agree that there are some issues that just aren't important enough to take action on immediately or maybe ever. But, I do think that complacency and lack of courage to act is a plague on humankind in this day and age. I think that we would not have half the problems we now have if we took an active role in 'things'. I know the first response is there just isn't enough time to do all the things we want to. That's because we have allowed ourselves to be victims of corporate and marketing schemes to buy, buy, buy 'stuff' and then work, work, work to pay for it. We need to take a hard look at ourselves, and set some very important priorities."
Sagittarian Debbie has the reverse dilemma of most people, she tries to change absolutely everything:
"I have the real dilemma of NOT accepting things, but trying to alter them all. I guess it is my Sagittarian nature which you refer to so often. Unfortunately - as you can imagine - it is impossible, and yet I don't give up. One of these days, it will all catch up with me, I'm sure. I just wish I knew how to pick and choose those things that are not worth altering.
A case in point, my daughter is super-active so I get her a swingset as an energy 'outlet'. Then I spend the next two weeks putting up the thing because my hubby is not 'around-the-house inclined' and I botch the last piece of it yesterday! I truly begin to wonder if it would have been less effort taking her to the park DAILY rather than going through that! I don't know... one of these days I may find the answer!
Feel the fear and do it, advises Carrie, and then you will realise there was nothing to fear in the first place:
"For me in particular, it is relationships. I know so many people who stay in ones that are 'okay' and they are happy with 'okay' because it is better than being alone, and because it is easier than approaching their partner and saying: 'I love you and I really want to be closer to you. So how can we do that?'
Do you know why they won't do that? A little fear of the other person - but mostly fear of themselves, of what they will find if they dive too deep. They may end up realising that their whole life is for naught - that it isn't who they are or what they want. And then that will mean change. And that is scary.
This is amazing because if you take that step to dive off the board, the hardest part is jumping off. The rest is easy and when you confront the fear you realise there is nothing to fear. The changes, if there are any, happen naturally. And amazingly, the things you are most afraid of losing are the things that you come back to the strongest.
Anyway, that has been my experience and it is how I am raising my kids."
Ryan in Canada is in a rut:
"For me right now it is my job. I used to love what I do, but now it truly bores me to tears. I stay because I work for a large company that offers a healthy compensation package, and because I'm not sure what I'll do next. But I know that I'm really just going through the motions of giving a damn about my day-to-day life at this point. Pretty sad, really. It doesn't help that my friends and family truly discourage me from even considering doing something a little risky right now - they all think I've got a good thing going. And maybe I do, but it doesn't satisfy me at all anymore. I need to break free, but something keeps me here..."
While Linda knows that it is the big battles that deserve the most of our energy, but she recognise that the little ones can still be crucial:
"I try to save my energy for the big battles in life and try to take the small ones in my stride. It's not that they do not matter, but in the 'big picture' some of the small things that annoy me are not really important enough to waste my time being annoyed. However, I know quite well that sometimes it's the little things that push us over the edge. Trying to keep one's perspective is sometimes a battle in itself."
Travel trauma is what gets Kathryn in California going...
"Minor stuff:
1. Clocks whose batteries have run out (I don't know where to get the proper batteries for this clock as it was a gift, and quite expensive, so now it's just a 'pretend' clock)
2. Light bulbs that won't screw in
3. Wall calendars printed without the days of the week. I'm looking at one right now that was a gift, with penguins on it and it's adorable, BUT they forgot to put the days on there.
4. Improper spelling in printed books.
Major stuff:
1. Airlines cancelling flights for absolutely no good reason (I had one this weekend from San Francisco to San Diego, California - USA, cancelled supposedly because the airline was 'expecting weather'! EXCUSE ME - what does that mean? All the rest of the flights during the day took off on time. I suspect that flight didn't have enough people on it so they just cancelled it.)
2. Airlines overselling seats so that when you arrive, the plane is overbooked and some people can't go on it.
3. Airline seats too narrow to provide a comfortable ride for anyone larger than Twiggy (except for the rich, who can fly first class)."
The education system in the US needs to change, says Bette:
"There is one situation that I would like to do something about but don't bother and that is the condition of the schools in the USA today and the poor quality of education that our children are receiving."
Alexander aims his hopes high; he wants to break the repetitive cycle of history:
"Fundamentally, the one thing man has learnt in the past, is that man never learns from the past! The same mistakes are made, be they small, or large, over and over again, throughout the course of history. Only the context in which they are made, and the timing, differ. We continue to go around and around in circles, big circles and small ones; but we don't know it. Or we do, but can't (or won't) bring ourselves to stop. Should we accept this? I think not. But we do.
I guess, some things just ARE. And it would be contrary to the natural laws of the universe to act against them, not to mention futile in the long-run.
Naturally, there is a flipside to that. The most meaningful pleasures we experience in life survive throughout the generations, regardless of what happens. Ideals and values, such as honour and devotion, deep, nurturing, love, sacrifice, the aspiration to be better than oneself and learning, to feel the awe at a new-born babe, or the sense of pride in the midst of personal achievement, and ultimately, life itself, be it the birth of a crocus in spring, or that of a star, galaxies away; these things are timeless. And so they should be.
It seems that, whether good or bad, in the end, everything gets recycled! Now that, I can gladly accept!"
In the wake of personal tragedy, Barbara ponders an ultimate question and the automatic acceptance of theoretical answers to it:
"I lost my best friend in the world last month. The man was too young to go and not in terrible health. But everything that could have been done wrong was done wrong: from the reason why he went into the hospital to how he was treated by the hospital.
My whole world has altered drastically and everything I ever thought I knew to be true is now WAY up for question. Before this happened...I did not accept that 'death' was real OR inevitable. I always felt that somehow we went on, just without a physical body, and I had hopes that some day we would figure out spiritually how to stop HAVING to even leave the body if we didn't want to go.
Now I want more than anything to be able to 'know' again that leaving the body is not 'death' as we perceive it, that we DO continue on and DO still know ourselves as ourselves, and that we CAN see those we have left behind in the flesh and CAN still communicate with them somehow as well as those who went on before us. But now I don't know if I can ever 'know' it because now I know that all I ever did was 'believe' it. There is a difference. I don't know what else to say. I don't understand and probably never will. But I guess being me, I'll keep trying."
Ineke says her examples are not very inspiring, but they certainly strike a chord, don't they?
"Bills to pay; tidying up; setting one's paperwork in order; sorting out one's stamp collection.
All this can be time consuming if not done on a regular basis and yet it gets put off..."
Suzanne came up with these 'right of the top of her head':
"1. Bad (or just mediocre) relationships.
2. Unmarked railroad crossings that kill (including elementary school children in buses - another accident just yesterday) when simple improvements could prevent such tragedies.
3. A tax system which is inequitable, financially and otherwise destructive to families."
Malloy, too, picks up on the misery of enduring relationships that are past they sell by date:
"I am amazed at people who stay in miserable relationships simply because it's too much of an effort to change things.
Break-ups are tiring and sad and, well, if you're living with the person it's too much of a hassle to find somewhere else to live. Such creatures of habit we are."
Tcac says that laughter is no substitute for change:
"What I find most appalling is the general acceptance of the United States government as being inept, unorganised, and inefficient with a laugh. I recently attended a training for the census count 2000 after a host of comedy of errors in the first hour I was constantly told: 'Well you know the government ha, ha, ha.'
Yes, unfortunately I do know the government but what I don't know is what exactly we can we do about it other than laugh."
Texan Jeanne says it's still the wild west on Houston's streets, but her refusal to accept the situation has at least put change in motion:
"I live in Houston Texas. When cars became the newest and greatest thing, Houston decided it was going to be the first real 'modern city'. So the city widened roads, girdled the city with immense highways, and ripped out all of the public transportation. So now we are faced with rising gas prices and the worst air pollution in the United States. But you wouldn't believe how people resist getting a public train. I think as city people are so accustomed to the horrible traffic and driving, and are so attached to the 'freedom' they feel that the auto gives them, they just can't change.
I walk to work every day and getting across the major streets means taking your life in your hands. My co-worker witnessed a horrible pedestrian accident on the corner I cross every day. I got fed up and wrote to the local paper. There were about two weeks of articles in the news and big promises from this official and that official, but in the end very little was done. The only change that I have witnessed is that a few drivers are trying to be more careful. These are the people who in the end will make all the difference."
If only Lisa could get her way, but she recognises the difficulties:
"Along with the words 'if only', the word 'but' should be banned.
I want to do that, but ...
I heard what he was saying, but ...
I understand your point of view, but ...
I have tried to do little tests for myself of trying not to use the word 'but', and it's very difficult. It's that little voice of doubt that creeps in."
Sue recommends a book, The Power of Now by Eckhardt Tolle, to deal with (and not necessarily change) the aggravating behaviour of people.
"It's been my experience that we oftentimes accept others' rude and thoughtless behaviour rather than doing or saying something to alter it.
Now, rather than expending energy in trying to get them to change, I simply state what my feelings are about a situation and refocus myself on living in a place of joy, peace, and oneness. What I found is that being in the present moment allows me to state what is true for me at the same time keeping myself in a presence that nurtures my spirit. One of two things occurs: either the other person naturally shifts to an energy more aligned with peace and oneness or they easily and simply move out of my life."
Tah reckons that the list is 'endless':
"But the biggest reason we accept things is sheer laziness. Man as a species is inherently lazy. If he weren't, I do not believe he would have ever invented the wheel!"
Richard has his own wish list, not necessarily, we suspect, in this order:
"1. Bill Clinton 2. My mother-in-law 3. Myself"
Davion has her own agenda:
"Dripping faucet = annoying, with possible catastrophic environmental results.
Naughty toddlers = cute, with possible catastrophic societal results.
Nagging but dull pain = annoying, with possible catastrophic physical results."
Boycotting gas (petrol) will not reduce the price, concludes Wendy, although she is prepared to be deterred without even trying.
"In Western Canada, we pay ridiculous prices for gas (petrol over there). Someone suggested we simply stop buying gas for three days - because 'that will teach them'. Well, of course it won't because as my smart Libra/Scorpio daughter said, we would simply fill up the day before the three days and go back the day after the three days, It's not just a case of effort - it simply cannot be done."
We have found our ultimate pessimist in Cheryl, not even Jonathan, it seems, can cheer her up.
"So, you asked what we accept because it takes too much effort to alter it?
I'd say: my entire life. I just accept it all because it's too hard to make the effort to alter it. Every time I make the attempt to alter it, everything goes backwards and I always fail, so why try anymore?"
In a thoroughly wired world, Carolyn in the USA finds that they make her really cross:
"You asked for items that do not make sense but are too hard to fix. My pet peeve is the hanging wires all over our world - telephone wires, electrical wires. The guys who put them up were too lazy to bury them underground. Instead we all have our world polluted with ugly dangerous wires!"
Performance consultant Cristene suggests practising what we preach could improve our journeys:
"As a consultant I log approximately 30,000 miles a year. I see a lot on the roads. I also hear people constantly complain about other people's driving and their rudeness. If only we could practice the courtesy that we expect from others, we would have one less grievance by the time we arrive at our destinations.
A small change often yields remarkable results."
Megan in Melbourne, Australia, feels that it is definitely worthwhile to protest against rising petrol prices:
"In response to your query: 'What else do we accept because it takes too much effort to change it?' there has been a call to protest (as an email attachment) which has been circulating in Melbourne, Australia. It is an idea which began in the US to protest rising petrol prices and the psychological methods used to make the public docilely accept them.
The truth is that we should all use less (or no) petrol anyway, but it is good to see people organising themselves to defend their rights. Interestingly, while most people I forwarded the attachment to were supportive, some returned with comments like 'Get a life'. I think that fact supplies the answer to why the public are so easily navigated by those in power. i.e., it's only 'naive hippies and greenies' who protest politically."
Laura has a cautionary tale for Jonathan: replace that Cuisinart lid now!
"I am writing to you about the faulty lid on your Cuisinart!
About 18 months ago, I had an awful accident with my Cuisinart, that was fitted exactly the way that you describe yours. The lid was so unsafe, yet I used to grate cheese with it all the time. I kept putting off searching for a replacement lid because I was so used to jury-rigging it that it just wasn't a priority for me. I didn't want to spend the money, nor the time to replace it.
I would hold the lid down in the most contorted way, and at such an angle, that it always worked (even though I was applying great force just to keep it on) until one day when it completely propelled itself out of my grip. It jumped back at me and severed the tip of my left pinky finger. My neighbour had to drive me to the emergency room because I had to continually apply pressure to a make-shift tourniquet that I had to fashion for myself (in haste).
I am a technical writer, so my hands are my livelihood. As it was, they were able to stitch back on what I had nearly lost. But I was unable to use that specific finger for the better part of six months, and still have a bit of random, residual pain there.
My point is this: replace the lid! It's worth it! Take it from me. Make it a priority to make sure that your food processor operates safely. The nurse in the emergency room told me that I was very lucky. She's seen much worse food processor accidents!"
From Patagonia, Arizona, Becky muses that we could all do better than just aspiring to a just "make do" philosophy:
"Alas, I feel that most people who work in the corporate world, or perhaps in Western society in general, treat their entire lives as you do your food processor: so long as they manage with it, they feel no need to fix what is not working in order to derive the optimum performance. Let's hope that in the coming time, we will all strive to make our lives work to their peak potential."
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