It wasn’t the only reason I chose him.
After all, he had completed 461 tasks and, based on 281 reviews, possessed a perfect 5.0 rating.
Nonetheless, I admit that one of the more whimsical reasons I hired this particular Taskrabbit to help organize my own Fresh Start (the theme of January’s meditation HERE), was his name.
You see, I hired someone named Vladimir to help Vlad and me ruthlessly tackle our pre-move decluttering.
Having an extra pair of hands for such work is exponentially more efficient for many reasons.
First, having someone on the payroll keeps you focused.
You’re far less likely to get lost in a box of memorabilia or turn a short break into an afternoon-long nap.
Second, it also keeps you more honest.
When someone holds up a box of stray computer cables and power cords you haven’t touched in three years and asks:
“Are these important?”
It’s easier to overcome your “keep these just in case” strategy and answer with a simple:
After Vladimir accepted the gig, we briefly chatted, and I confirmed he was okay working around a very friendly young dog.
I warned him that while he is well-behaved, Vlad gets enormously excited when visitors arrive.
In particularly, he’s extremely vocal.
This was the abbreviated version of my longer explanation—one not necessarily suitable for general audiences.
You see, Vlad’s vocal enthusiasm directly corresponds to his chart in one of my favorite “crackpot” systems: Human Design, a unique practice blending astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah, the Chakra System, and Quantum Physics.
Fittingly, as a year-round connoisseur of start dates for various New Year traditions, I noted that this Tuesday marked the start of the Human Design New Year.
I marked the moment with both inner and outer work, releasing unhelpful inner monologues along with that box of unused computer cables.
Though I didn’t share this with Vladimir, I also smiled at a memory from a holiday party this year, where some guests who are readers of this newsletter sweetly asked about Vlad’s recovery.
I assured them that all was well, explaining that while Vlad’s injuries were absolutely real, they were harder to gauge because of his extraordinary vocalizations.
Inspired, I shared over spiked eggnog that, according to Vlad’s Human Design chart, he belongs to one of the rarest personality types, representing just 1% of the population.
“He’s a Self-Projected Projector,
just like Barbra Streisand.”
According to this personality assessment system, their unique decision-making process requires vocalizing to uncover their truths and achieve clarity.
It honestly seems absolutely and uniquely true for both of them.
Thinking it was just a quirky tidbit at a holiday cocktail party, I was surprised by the intense turn the conversation suddenly took.
I recently shared some of the rituals I’ve created for New Year’s, many of which involve fire.
This is partly why this poem by Naomi Shihab Nye resonates so deeply with me.
Burning the Old Year
Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.So much of any year is flammable,
lists of vegetables, partial poems.
Orange swirling flame of days,
so little is a stone.Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.
I begin again with the smallest numbers.
Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies.
One guest at the party took particular interest in my Human Design quip, asking one thoughtful question after another.
Although I’m always happy to share what I know about spiritual or psychological modalities, I began to detect a pattern—and even a deeper agenda—at play.
Eventually, he revealed that he was a high-end internet marketing designer recently hired by Barbra Streisand’s company to redesign their website.
“I’m not sure how much my dog’s astrology will help you,”
I confessed, “but I’m happy to expand on the similarities in their charts as much as you want.”
In this system, there are seven types of inner authorities for decision-making.
If nothing else, it’s a helpful reminder that not everyone processes things as we do—nor should they.
Some folks are designed to ride out emotional waves, while others are meant to act on their immediate intuitive response.
This reminded me of a particularly insightful conversation I had this week with a therapist friend.
Her sage summary of several scenarios I described was:
“It seems like everyone’s
just playing out their assigned role.”
I found this insight profoundly helpful on so many levels.
It offered a bird’s-eye view, free of praise or blame, simply observing the drama as a whole.
It sidestepped the argument of good and bad, in favor of a non-judgmental historical / character-based approach to behavior.
That’s just what so-and-so does—and, for better or worse, probably always will.
It’s been 72 hours since I threw out that entire box of cables.
So far, there have been no consequences, and certainly no disasters—electrical or otherwise—to report.
I’m reasonably certain I made the right decision.
As we move beyond January, I remain committed to the idea that a Fresh Start(Meditation HERE) is always possible.
While some people may be entrenched in playing their assigned roles, I’d gently suggest they reflect on who assigned those roles in the first place.
Much of our old wiring—whether in our brain chemistry or our junk drawers—no longer serves us effectively.
Like Vlad (and Barbra), we must rely on our unique decision-making processesto move forward.
As the poet tells us, “so much of any year is flammable” and cosmically designed “to marry the air.”
Indeed, we all know it’s the things left undone that we’ll regret the most.
Fortunately, since you’re reading this, there’s still room for those adventures if we’re willing to play new roles, toss out the old wiring, and embrace that always-possible Fresh Start.
Namaste for Now,
