Have People Forgotten How to be Good Travelers?, By Christopher Elliott

FEATURED COLUMNIST

Have People Forgotten How to be Good Travelers?

By Christopher Elliott

Shelley Hunter says she had a meltdown before a recent flight from Reno to San Diego. The reason? She had forgotten one of the basic travel requirements: A picture ID.

“While I was in the security line, I could not find my wallet,” she remembers. “I thought, ‘That’s it, I can’t go.’ ”

Hunter is one of perhaps hundreds of thousands of travelers relearning travel essentials this summer. After enduring shutdowns and travel bans, Americans are vacationing again. Along the way, they’re discovering they’ve forgotten things they used to know — and that there are some new things they need to know but don’t.

I get it. I’ve overlooked so many basic travel practices in the past few months, it’s embarrassing. I’ve forgotten to check in for a flight, neglected to print out my hotel confirmation and returned a rental car without filling the tank first.

So did Hunter make her flight? She phoned her daughter, who remembered that the Transportation Security Administration would accept several forms of ID. “I had my Costco card,” says Hunter, an innkeeper from Quincy, Calif. That worked. “I got on the flight with my Costco card.”

She notes, though, that it wasn’t a pleasant experience. A TSA agent searched her belongings and gave her a pat-down before she could get through security. And she almost missed the flight.

She’s not alone. Kimberly Davis says her clients’ travel skills have deteriorated dramatically during the pandemic. “I have had to walk clients through some of the most basic travel questions,” says Davis, founder and CEO of the travel agency Trouvaille Travel International. “I now insist on seeing their passports before working on a trip with them. That’s because of the number of lost, expired or close-toexpiring passports I’ve encountered.”

Her customers have basic questions about changing money, packing, getting through immigration and booking tickets. “And those are the experienced travelers,” she says. “It’s like everyone is starting over.”

One of the most common things travelers overlook: Visa and passport requirements.

Christina Tunnah, general manager of the Americas for travel insurance company World Nomads, says people are forgetting to check their passport renewal dates. “With many passports sitting idle for years due to border closures, travelers haven’t noticed they’ve expired,” she says.

Even Steffanie Rivers, a veteran flight attendant, neglected to look up the visa rules when she recently flew to Dubai with her mother.

“Before takeoff, I got a text from a company with a name that appeared to be from the Dubai government that said I needed a visa,” recalls Rivers, author of “The Do’s and Don’ts Of Flying: A Flight Attendant’s Guide To Airline Travel Secrets.” “So I scrambled to pay upward of $500 for my mother and me to have the visas they told me I’d need.”

It turns out she didn’t need a visa, which a quick look at the State Department site would have verified. Rivers tried to dispute her credit card charges but was unsuccessful.

Why are people becoming travel-illiterate?

“We’ve been out of the travel flow for so long that it was easy to forget certain things that would ensure we were at the top of our travel game,” says Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University. Working from home didn’t help either, Plante says. Americans “lost step with their day-to-day preparedness and sense of timing.”

But it’s not enough to relearn the old travel rules, experts say, because there are a few new ones, too.

“Although travel is back, it is not back to normal,” says Helen Prochilo, owner of the travel agency Promal Vacations. “This summer, we’re seeing cruises canceled at the last minute because there are not enough staff on board. We’re seeing slow service at resorts and restaurants. And we’re seeing massive airline cancellations.”

Industry watchers such as Alan Fyall say people have a lot of new information to remember. “Travelers are on information overload, with changing coronavirus test requirements, local mask mandates, flight schedule changes,” says Fyall, associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They have too much to think about.”

Consider what happened to one of Marissa Prejean’s clients, who recently tried to enter the Dominican Republic. At the time, the country required a QR code as part of a traveler’s customs declaration.

“Authorities denied her entrance into the Dominican Republic because she didn’t submit her documents into their online customs declaration portal that generates a QR code,” recalls Prejean, owner of Castles and Cruises Travel Company. “She had not thoroughly read her travel documents before she left.”

Prejean sent her customer a link, and she completed the form while she waited in the customs area at Punta Cana International Airport.

How do you get back into the groove? Make a packing list. Check your document requirements. Double-check to make sure you have all of your essentials, including documents, IDs, visas and chargers. Assume nothing. And don’t be overconfident about your travel skills.

Even experts have lost some of their travel mojo during the pandemic.

“I have gotten out of practice,” admits Harshvardhan Joshi, a mountaineer from Vasai, India. “Particularly in packing.” On a recent excursion, he left his iPhone charger at home. “Without the charger, my phone would be dead,” he recalls. “And without the phone, I would have no money, since I only use digital currencies and also keep all my documents on the phone.”

The solution: He borrowed someone else’s charger. Then he ordered a new one online and overnighted it to his location.

Joshi shouldn’t feel bad. As I wrapped up this story, I received an urgent text message from my wireless company. My SIM card expired, and now I’m in a foreign country without a phone connection.

Oops. Maybe I’d better work on my travel skills. n

•••

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy and publisher of the consumer newsletter Elliott Confidential. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help. This story originally appeared in the Washington Post. © 2022 Christopher Elliott.

“CZU Fire Grand Jury” from page 22

Funding is available through grant opportunities to assist with fuel reduction and the County has benefited from such grants.

An example is the project approved as part of 35 statewide projects outlined in Gov. Newsom’s executive order on fuel reduction. This project, in CSA 48, Aptos Creek and Buzzard Lagoon roads near Corralitos, treated 225 acres to improve existing and create additional fuel breaks to protect vulnerable communities. Of the 225 treated acres, 150 acres is a shaded fuel break and has allowed for the use of prescribed fire to help clear and maintain the area.

Recommendation 9: Each year, during the budget presentation, the County Board of Supervisors should require County Fire

to provide a vegetation-management plan

, including a priority list of projects and a timeframe for completion.

Board of Supervisors’ Response:

Requires Further Analysis: There is currently no funding for a vegetationmanagement plan for the County Fire

Department.

To summarize the position of the Board of Supervisors two years ago: Property owners are responsible for vegetation reduction on their property, not the County.

The County could improve vegetation reduction on County-maintained roads. County Fire does not have a plan. It coordinates with CalFire to identify priority projects.

Because there is no funding for vegetation-management planning, planning isn’t done. Priority projects are done only after grant funding has been obtained.

The Grand Jury determined that veg-

etation reduction along roadways is a major problem that the County must lead

in solving.

The highest priority areas for vegetation reduction are those located within, or are adjacent to, the WUI. Beyond the WUI, where infrastructure supporting nearby communities exists, that infrastructure must be protected.

Creating fuel breaks is a commonly applied vegetation reduction method.

A large fuel break constructed by UC Santa Cruz enabled firefighters to halt the advance of the CZU Fire and protected the campus. Another large fuel break was constructed during the CZU Fire in Henry Cowell State Park along a heavily forested ridge to prevent the fire from reaching San Lorenzo Valley High School and Highway 9.

Providing safe evacuation routes, shelter-in-place locations, and access routes for fire crews enables safe movement for affected residents and emergency services. Safe movement is the responsibility of state and local agencies.

Overgrown vegetation on or next to roads makes access difficult for firefighters and equipment. Roadside vegetation is the fuel that is ignited first. There are many overgrown, narrow, one-lane roads in the County. These conditions often make it difficult for emergency vehicles to access a fire area when residents are leaving.

Investigation

• Is the County sufficiently proactive and providing the leadership needed to achieve adequate wildfire protection for the future? • Are County residents sufficiently informed of progress toward wildfire resilience?

Vegetation-reduction projects to reduce community risk from wildfire are, in essence, taxpayer-funded public works projects. When viewed that way, residents deserve to understand why specific projects were selected, and what benefit they will provide.

Vegetation reduction projects should be tracked relative to predefined goals, and progress toward those goals should be reported periodically.

A plethora of agencies and organizations — many with overlapping responsibilities — provides different aspects of fire prevention throughout the County. The list: Santa Cruz County Fire Department • 13 separate fire protection Districts • CalFire Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience • Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County • Fire Districts Advisory Commission • Santa Cruz Fire Safe Council • Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network • Firewise Councils

The Grand Jury tried to understand how all these entities are working together to create wildfire resilience.

We learned the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County and the Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience often coordinate planning and implementation of projects. However, being

regarded as a lead agency comes with the expectation of reliable funding and the ability to manage large projects, which

these two agencies lack.

Coordination is not the same as leadership.

The Grand Jury gained appreciation of the enormous complexity of the required permitting for large vegetation-reduction projects. We were told some plans intentionally lack specificity that would trigger an Environmental Impact Report. When an individual project needs an EIR, that requirement makes it slow to execute and hampers obtaining funding.

In Santa Cruz County, there are multiple, overlapping efforts to produce a strategic plan for vegetation reduction. However, no strategic plans appear to have been completed at present—much less made available to the public. The Grand Jury also came to understand that the various organizations have differing priorities.

County Fire and the Fire Department Advisory Commission The Fire Department Advisory Commission is working with County Fire on updating its Santa Cruz County Fire Department Master Plan for the first time since 2015. We were told this is the first time there have been objectives approved by the Board for County Fire.

CalFire tracks vegetation-reduction projects internally but that data is not consistently provided to the media or to the public.

The Resource Conservation District’s Public Works Plan aims to facilitate approval of fuel reduction projects in wildfire risk areas of the Coastal Zone over 10 years.

Santa Cruz County recently purchased a masticator, a device that “chews up” lowgrowing vegetation, roots and topsoil.

The mixture of soil and plant material is noncombustible. The masticator is seeing use outside of projects funded by grants.

RCD runs chipping programs to facilitate creation of defensible space around buildings.

Expensive

The Santa Cruz County WUI is 61 square miles, of which 59% has residences.

There are 640 acres in a square mile, so there are 61 x 0.59 x 640 = 23,000 acres of occupied WUI.

Last year, two grants totaling $7.7 million ($3 million + $4.7 million) funded vegetation-reduction projects on 1,384 acres (454 + 930), which works out to $5,600 per acre.

If these projects are representative of the cost, then treating 23,000 acres would cost about $130 million.

This estimate includes vegetation reduction only on occupied WUI – not critical infrastructure or access and egress routes, which are essential to protect the community and provide safe movement.

This survey is 12 years old.

Santa Cruz County received at least $9 million in CalFire grants last year. If the County received a similar amount each year, it would take 14 years to complete high-priority vegetation reduction.

It is imperative the highest risk areas receive treatment first and not wait until

the end of the 14 years.

Vegetation will be growing back; hence, after 14 years, it will be time to start over. The County’s success in obtaining grant funding means it is able to make some progress. It would certainly be preferable to complete the work in less time.

RCD has achieved real obtaining

grants for vegetation reduction. In 2020–2021, the RCD obtained a $1.3 million grant from the CalFire Early Action California Climate Investments Program for shaded fuel breaks along Summit Road.

The willingness of the agencies to partner with others, and to publish longterm property management plans, were factors in getting the awards.

We calculated that Santa Cruz County received at least $9 million in CalFire grants in 2020–2021.

CalFire grants may only be awarded for projects on private land if there is an imminent threat to public rights of way or

public infrastructure.

Wildfire does not respect landownership; a fire may start on private land and quickly spread to a nearby community or critical infrastructure. The Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network is the major player advocating for vegetationmanagement work on private land.

Contract Expires in 2023

The Santa Cruz County Fire Department serves the unincorporated County, including Bonny Doon, Davenport, Loma Prieta, Corralitos, Las Cumbres, and South Skyline. This area overlaps almost entirely with the State Responsibility Area.

County Fire is governed by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. It operates 10 fire stations; five are staffed by a combination of local professional and volunteer firefighters and five are staffed by CalFire firefighters.

The County Fire Chief serves as the local CalFire Chief.

We learned that the CalFire/County Fire Chief reports to the General Services Department, with only indirect access to the Board of Supervisors. We are concerned that this reporting relationship does not give sufficient visibility and priority to fire prevention.

In neighboring San Mateo County, the CalFire chief is a department head in the County government. San Mateo has about three times the population of Santa Cruz County. Even accounting for this, the San Mateo County Fire Department is considerably larger.

CalFire has a complex relationship with County Fire under a 1948 contract known as the Amador Contract.

CalFire has statutory responsibility for State Responsibility Areas within the County year-round, but they are fully staffed only during fire season.

The County pays for 24 seasonal firefighters working on CalFire engines for up to seven months when they would normally be laid off in the winter.

The County pays for CalFire to manage the volunteer firefighter system yearround, emergency response for the winter months, plus maintenance of vehicles.

The fire season used to be June through October, with a seven-month nonfire season. This seems to be reversing, with seven months of fire season and five months of winter season becoming normal.

Since the County pays for the 24 firefighters for the months defined as winter, the County is paying significantly less. CalFire is effectively subsidizing the County.

However, CalFire sets priorities when it is paying for fire-protection service. These could include sending firefighters and engines to a fire out of County even when there is a fire in the County.

In comparison, San Mateo County funds 58 full-time firefighters and eight fire engines.

Staffing is no longer covered under the Amador Contract because it does not meet current labor law. There is a three-year contract, and this is the second year.

When the contract comes up for renewal in 2023, County Fire cannot rely on CalFire continuing an arrangement in

which it subsidizes the County.

Fire protection funding comes from 0.5% of local property taxes, plus the CSA 48 fee collected from those residents, and inspection and plan-review fees. The total County Fire budget last year was $10.8 million.

The budget provides for the purchase of two new fire engines to replace ones deployed far beyond their expected life.

Santa Cruz County has an ongoing budget challenge. It is unrealistic to expect the County to allocate significant additional funds to wildfire prevention, even though this is sorely needed.

“CZU Fire Grand Jury” page 25

“Groundwater” from page 19

Among the key grant-funded GSP implementation projects are: • Inland groundwater pumping optimization, including design and construction of the Cunnison Lane well.

This will assist with reducing reliance on groundwater pumping from wells nearer to the coast by increasing pumping at more inland locations. Pumping and redistribution of groundwater extraction to wells more inland is a critical component to basin sustainability.

With this funding, the Soquel Creek Water District will continue to implement groundwater adaptive management and extraction for various groundwater wells so that inland wells near the Pure Water Soquel seawater intrusion prevention (SWIP) wells will continue to be optimized. • Aquifer injection/aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), including design and construction, to improve groundwater supplies.

ASR would inject excess surface water, treated to drinking water standards, into the Basin for use as an underground storage reservoir, and extract stored water during periods of water supply shortages. Any ASR project would need to be designed with additional capacity to contribute to the restoration of the Basin. • Park Avenue transmission main/ bottleneck improvements via replacing an undersized (8”) water main in this area with a larger pipeline (12”) to allow for optimal redistribution of municipal groundwater pumping.

This will increase system reliability and allow more flexibility to reduce groundwater extraction of the coastal wells and shift pumping more inland. • Groundwater and hydraulic modeling to provide data for more informed sustainable groundwater management.

This modeling will provide key information with which to consider additional indirect potable reuse and ASR implementation with potential of resources between agencies, with a combination of surface water, groundwater, and purified recycled water (known as

“CZU Fire Grand Jury” from page 24

Ideally, the County would pay for sufficient staff and fire engines, which would then be under its control and not subject to state priorities.

Although the County does not directly fund any ongoing vegetation-reduction projects, it did make a one-time purchase of a masticator. This is for projects that would not secure grant funding, such as on private land. The masticator is used by CalFire personnel because they have training and insurance.

The County plans to increase the number of remote cameras from seven to nine to improve wildfire detection.

Volunteer fire departments everywhere have difficulty maintaining their workforce—due in part to significant and often onerous training requirements—and our County is no exception. This lack of staff frequently results in inadequate fire protection for rural communities. The Grand Jury was told 100 volunteer firefighters would be ideal, but only a small fraction of that number is able to maintain training requirements and respond to a call.

Conclusion

We found vegetation reduction is the biggest challenge to achieving adequate fire resilience, and that dealing with it will take both resources and high prioritization from the County.

The bulk of vegetation reduction to enable safe movement is the responsibility of the County, local fire protection districts, CalFire, or a utility company such as PG&E.

Our review of the many County organizations addressing wildfire protection did not find any published plans

describing the prioritization process for

vegetation-reduction projects.

The large number of agencies tasked with fire protection complicates the situation, although we did find clusters of collaboration among agencies.

We found the grants process is unwieldy and complex, and grants may be awarded to projects that do not have the highest priority for wildfire mitigation. However, the County is almost entirely dependent on grants.

Due to effective work by local agencies, the County is receiving much of what it needs to complete sufficient vegetation-reduction projects to eventually provide wildfire resilience.

We looked at the County Fire Department, its organization, budget, contract with CalFire, and reliance on volunteer firefighters. None of these aspects is ideal, and, taken together, are suboptimal for delivering adequate fire protection to rural communities in the Wildland Urban Interface.

Additional funds would be of

benefit , but the Grand Jury recognizes that the County’s overall budget challenges mean this is not likely to happen without significant effort. Budget limitations mean reliance on volunteer firefighters will continue.

County Fire would benefit from increased visibility and priority within County government, and should report

directly to the Board of Supervisors. County Fire should be doing much more to inform residents of their wildfire risk, and what the County is doing to mitigate it.

The Grand Jury has issued a number of investigative reports on fire protection over the past few years. A recurrent theme is the lack of attention that community protection and safe movement receives from the County government. This Grand Jury echoes that observation. n conjunctive use). Together with water quality and economic analyses, sufficient data will then exist to develop an efficient and highly-optimized plan.

The projects funded by this grant are critical to the implementation of the MGA’s GSP.

It’s worth noting that our neighbor to the south, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, received a similar grant to create an alternative water source for agriculture, and to reduce groundwater overdraft and seawater intrusion.

The funding of these projects is a significant step toward groundwater sustainability and a resilient, reliable water future for our coastal communities.

And now for our acronym quiz: how many acronyms are defined in this article? If you answered six, you’re correct and can now use these acronyms to impress (or annoy) your friends and family! The terms converted to acronyms were: • Mid-County Groundwater Agency (MGA) • Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) • Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) • Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) • Seawater intrusion prevention (SWIP) • Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR)

Talk to you later (TTYL) in next month’s column! n

•••

As always, if you have any questions about this month’s topic or anything else related to Soquel Creek Water District, feel free to contact us at outreach@soquelcreekwater. org or 831-475-8501 x118 and visit www. soquelcreekwater.org

Annual Traditions

ACROSS

1. Verdant 5. Vietnamese neighbor 8. “Before” prefix 11. Curved molding 12. *It rings at midnight on Christmas Eve at church 13. Yarn store unit 15. Relating to armpit 16. Criminal’s surprise 17. Nephew’s sister 18. *4th of July spectacle 20. 1952 Olympics host 21. 1,000 kilograms 22. Meat sauce 23. Vacation location 26. French painter of “La

Danse” fame 30. Menu words (2 words) 31. Lean 34. Wine valley 35. Impertinent 37. *Annual Assumption tradition blesses it 38. #2 Down, pl. 39. Highest volcano in

Europe 40. Puppies 42. Bit of binary code 43. Dean’s official residence 45. Small stream 47. Wine quality 48. Bilbo Baggins’ land 50. Windsor family’s sport 52. *Popular New Year’s libation 56. Stored by bees 57. ____-de-camp 58. “On the ____” by Jack

Kerouac 59. Make laugh 60. Tear 61. Tibetan priest 62. Woolen cap 63. Banned insecticide 64. Big Bang’s original matter

DOWN

1. Bakery serving 2. Tangelo 3. Scorch 4. Regarding this point 5. “Live and ____” 6. Description for twins 7. Auto pioneer 8. Banana remnant 9. Puerto ____ 10. Compass bearing 12. “Jane Eyre” author 13. Pig part 14. *Action under mistletoe 19. Like a damaged apple, possibly 22. Jam container 23. Torn down 24. Fill with optimism 25. Sweating room 26. *Thanksgiving’s main event? 27. Beauty parlor 28. Chiropractor’s concern 29. Painting holder 32. Light gray 33. “Wow!” 36. *Birthday cake decorations 38. Seize the throne 40. Kind of humor 41. Ready 44. Deteriorate 46. Just about 48. Jumped aside 49. Lacked 50. Type of cotton 51. Female gamete 52. *Valentine’s Day tradition 53. *New Year’s resolution weight or savings target 54. One in a roster 55. Red-encased cheese 56. *Graduation flyer

We’ve left the nourishing waters of Cancer and find ourselves in the creative light of Leo, the fiery sign of kings and queens, of lions and leopards, the Sphinx, the blue star Sirius (where love originates), and the giant star, Regulus, at the heart of Leo. Leo is the “heart of matter” from which our life force emanates. Knowing this about Leo, we begin to understand the depth, breadth and dramatic life force of those born under Leo (Sun, Rising, Moon, Mars). Leo is both lion and pussycat all in one.

Leo is a fixed steady pulsating fire that never dims. Leo is the light of the Soul, the comforter, the healer. It is the Soul light of love and the freedom to create. When aligned with the Will to Good, Leo shines as bright as the Sun and glows with divine inspiration. Leo is the sign of identifying oneself by what one creates. Leo’s say, “Look at my creations!” And we praise them.

Leo, on the personality-building level, creates dictators not in touch with love or Divine Will, commanding others from their undeveloped little self. Let us see them as in training. These are their words, “I rule as a right of my presence in any situation. Let other forms exist. I rule because I am!” Leo on this level is the “benevolent dictator.”

When the personality is directed by the Soul (love, intelligent will, kindness, etc.) love from the heart of the Sun and from Sirius streams into the human heart creating the Will to Good, which is the Will to Love. Leos inspire people. They have an inner confidence. They are natural born actors, with an inborn sense of the dramatic. Leos need to be praised and recognized. That is how they evolve. Leos are leaders. Great leaders rule with Intelligent Will and Loving Intelligence. And at times they carry a fiery sword.

Update on Matthew: He remains in the hospital, stable, fragile, progressing in small steps daily, his brain needing to learn new pathways . We as a family ask that prayers continue. Updates are on my website – www. nightlightnews.org, on FB at Love For Matt Scott. And the Go Fund Me page is https://www.gofundme.com/f/matthew-cole-scotts-journey-to-recovery

ARIES All this week and weeks to come, the questions presented to you are: what engages your attention, what do you find creative about yourself, what resources would allow your creativity to expand, how do you relate to children (their care and well-being), where do you find rest and relaxation, and how do you party and have fun? Your answers define your present identity. Some Aries will attract a new love of something very interesting.

LEO Happy Birthday, Leo, now and forever. Ponder upon what you want/need for your birthday. Do you need a cupcake, an ice cream bar, a trip somewhere unusual, a new identity, a new past, a talk about money and investments, a teacher, a group to interact with, a new profession, expansion of your chosen profession, a wound to be healed, a brilliant relationship? Angels are standing by taking notes, waiting for your answers so they can spring into action. They remain with you all year long.

SAGITTARIUS Don’t let any mixed messages created by misinformation throw you overboard into the waters of confusion. Be aware that two areas of life, home/profession, presents dual realities. There is no end to the unexpectedness occurring in our world now. At times do you feel lost? Seek care and solace from friends, but only a very few whom you trust. Things cross-cultural, religious, higher education, long journeys can help. Visualize yourself on a long adventure, a pilgrimage divinely directed. Get good shoes.

TAURUS Something about the events or people in your life bring forth thoughts of family lineage, relatives and ancestors, birth and death. This information creates a foundation for your future life choices, with or without family, or creating a new one. Novel ideas occur to you, which, formerly rejected, will take root and change your perceptions (about family). Nurturance is a need now either from you or toward you. Both are best. You go first.

VIRGO This week tend to important activities - communication, bills, plans, agendas, purchases. Be sure your thoughts are not so internalized that you can’t reach out to others. Solitude may play a great part in the weeks ahead. When remaining behind the scenes, allow yourself to rest more so dreams have a chance to teach you new things through stories and numbers and symbols. Their messages are what the coming months will be like. Retreat to a garden. Sleep there under the stars.

CAPRICORN You are being called to a great work. What is that. Does it have to do with life and death, with tending and nurturing others? Are you called to care for an unexpected situation? Do you need to lead now? Your life perspective has changed this past month due to certain events. A great creative surge is enveloping you. You are called to actions that affects another’s life. You are reconsidering everything. And stepping into your role of leadership. You have been preparing for years. The time has come now. Someone needs you.

GEMINI The early training (and experiences) we received as children form the foundation of who/what we are today. It’s important to see these early experiences as gifts that gradually allowed you to become awake, aware and conscious. They also allowed you to find your way and create your own brilliant life. Seeing life in this light liberates your heart and mind. Turn toward this now, speak from this position. See the glass half full with sunlight shining through it.

CANCER The questions are what’s most important in your life these days and what is not? There’s need for determining the difference between the two. It’s important to observe your life and have practical knowledge so that difficulties don’t appear in terms of family communication. Messages may become conflicted and misunderstood. Stay within this mantra. “Let reality govern my every thought. And truth be the master of my life.”

LIBRA I’ve been wondering how Pluto in your 4th house of home and family environment has influenced you. I’ve wondered how this important transformative symbol has influenced your daily life and what choices you’ve had to make. Is there something about life and death you are tending to? Pluto brings forth transformation needed that we can’t push aside. And so I ask how are you, how is the family, how and where is your home? We are standing with you.

SCORPIO Some things new should be coming forth in your professional life, career, or in how others see you. Good things. In the meantime as you await this new reality, step forward into the public and act as an ambassador of goodwill. In a community monastery, called Figueira in Brazil, people are trained to be healers and “harmonizers.” Each of us will be called to be healing in the coming times. Consider becoming a healer and a harmonizer). It’s done silently with intention and dedication. Humanity in crisis will need these important skills. •••

AQUARIUS This time is most important for Aquarians. Leo is the opposite sign to Aquarius. Leo is where your creativity resides. A profound situation is occurring in your life. There is an integration of life’s energies, past, present and future. Your experiences are the prototype of humanity’s later experiences. You are the forerunner. For you to move forward, it’s important to integrate all talents and gifts from the past. Gather them into a bundle and offer them to the world. With conscious intention. Can you visualize this? Then a healing happens.

PISCES An event has occurred and your daily life is in question. What will you do? There are choices. Will you be here or there or yet in another direction altogether. Neptune in Pisces creates a state of confusion leading to a sense of non-direction at first. You need a witching wand, a divining rod, a branch of the hemlock or hazel or willow tree, to find the ley-lines, the currents of your future. You need a foundation now so your future can come forth. That foundation at this time is prayer. Have courage that all will be well in time.

The Aftermath of Being Out of Balance

Given the Mental Health Crisis we are facing, it’s become abundantly clear that the root cause … not the symptom, but the root cause of this Mental Health Crisis stems from being disconnected from … • That Voice in Our Head that Guides

Us • Being in Tune With Our Inner

Landscape • A Connection to Something Outside of this Earthly Realm & Human

Experience

In the workplace alone, we are seeing 53% of people reporting they feel more emotionally exhausted and 75% feel more socially isolated since the start of the Pandemic in 2020 (per a study by the Harvard Business Review).

The stats clearly back the importance of Mental Health. The only choice is whether we (you) will do something about it or not ...

A simple solution to make one’s own Mental Health a priority is through the practice of SOUL/Life Balance. By doing so, you are making an agreement with yourself to put yourself first and foremost, always while simultaneously reframing “work” as part of the Yang energy required in living your life.

How to Incorporate These Lessons Into Your Life

The choice to build Yin energy into your life is not an extra to-do to your list, nor is it something we shame ourselves for if we don’t do it as much as we’d like.

In reality, it’s a practice of bringing present awareness to our inner world/ landscape moment to moment.

By bringing awareness to the present moment through connecting with what’s rising to the surface within you; you will be guided to not only “feeding your soul” daily but as you continue this practice you’ll be able to understand what it means to “feed your soul” moment to moment.

A Life of Fulfillment is so much more accessible than we’ve been led to believe is possible.

If you’d like to go deeper on these concepts, check out my book SOUL/Life Balance or checking out my recent SOUL SEEKR podcast episode (https://open.spotify.com/ show/17i3xvuAhNxO80SVARfvnb) which is all about bringing the Yin & Yang energy into the workplace. n •••

SOUL/Life Balance isn’t something to chase nor something to attain. Rather, it’s a way of being and it starts with the mindset shift of reframing Work/Life Balance to SOUL/ Life Balance by asking yourself on a daily basis: “How can I feed my Soul in this moment?”