The Gemini Dream

Full disclosure: I was about to write my feel good "Welcome to May" post—my favorite month of the year—And just before I started typing...bam. 

Course correction.

I came across an article late last week with the following headline: 
Billie Eilish trashed Gemini men in a new interview. Why does this astrological sign get such a bad rap?

Me being one of those—both a Gemini AND a man—I just had to stop what I was doing and go read the piece. Even though I don't know the first thing about astrology, I have always felt my sign was a pretty good fit. Anyway, on to the feature.

The first thing I came across was the subhead: 

Gemini are known for being curious and chatty, but their focus on novelty means they're also stereotyped as having a wandering eye

Now the author really had me fired up. Curious and chatty? Yes, that's me. Wandering eye? Uh, I don't think so. And I've got my recent 40 year wedding anniversary to back me up.

I won't recite the article to you line by line. If you want to read it for yourself, you can click the link above. I will tell you the article cites a number of other articles that pretty much come to the same conclusion: Gemini men are the cads of the zodiac world. If you want to pick a better bet, go for any of the other 11 signs. 

One astrologer throws us a couple bones near the end of the feature, saying:

“They're always thinking of new ideas. They're creative in their thought process, and they’re solution-oriented.”  

Now, that's a little more like it.

For those following along at home, the Gemini period on the astrological calendar runs from May 21 to June 20. So, it covers my birthday (my sister's too). 

I always loved having my birthday at this time of year. First, as a school kid, it was a great time on the academic calendar. The hard work was basically over but you were still together with your buddies. And, the weather in May is usually just about perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold.

But I guess I was oblivious to my unknown reputation.

As I said earlier, I don't follow astrology. When I ran across phrases like placement of the planets or mutable signs, I'm not sure what to do with it.  

So, without that basic knowledge, what is a former youth baseball coach and recently retired PR practitioner to do? Or put more directly, what is "The Gemini Dream?"

For me, I always thought the best part of being a Gemini was to use my outgoing nature to make people feel comfortable. Or using my leadership skills and/or position to help others. 

During my senior year in high school, I had a number of younger friends. One was kind of quiet and didn't make friends easily. Another was a new kid at a very big school. A third guy was a troubled rebel. I tried to do what I could do to help each of them.  And I hope, for those friends, as indicated in the story, I was fun to be around. 

As an adult, I do (as the article suggests) have a number of interests. I write about many of them here on #CoachJeff. And I have done my best never to be flighty or flaky. 

At the end of the day. I think we all run a risk when we paint with a broad brush. Eilish may have had a bad experience with a Gemini ex-partner. And I am truly sorry about that. It's always sad to hear about the ending of a relationship, especially when it is hurtful to one or the other parther.

But does that mean all us twins are all to be trashed? Remember my post from last week about rivals? What if we took it a step further and said all fans of the rival team are bad people. 

Broad. Brush.

To sum up, I guess I am just not comfortable. Maybe my interpretation wasn't what was intended in the article at all. I know I am certainly not in the demographic for that singer. OK Boomer!

Still, the message left me feeling mighty low about of us bundled in the third zodiac. Surely we can give each other a little more grace.

So, ultimately, maybe my concept of The Gemini Dream is best expressed by this time-honored Presbyterian benediction:

"Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold fast to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor everyone; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit."

JG