I've been watching the news trying to get info on the volcanic eruption in Iceland and usually get maybe 20 seconds of stunning footage of the cloud, rarely the actual eruption, and then 20 minutes of people stranded in airports in the British Isles and Europe. I understand how annoying and frustrating it can be to have the normal flow of human lives disrupted but I feel the focus is a little off. And the imbalance of the reporting seems to represent the imbalance of how we as humans are seeing this event.

Put aside that this volcano hasn't erupted in over 180 years and our technology has never been better in reporting this magnificent, rare Earth change (a report of which I can't seem to find without - again - being deluged by stranded travellers), this is our dear Mother Earth giving us a mild warning about what's to come. I say mild because it really is. People are being inconvenienced, perhaps severely; but for the vast majority, this isn't life threatening.

What I feel is happening is a lesson in being adaptable. The Earth is the most important life now; she's in the process of giving birth to a new, more aware version of herself. And anyone who's been in labor, or been with someone in labor, knows when it's happening, nothing else is important. And yet with her in this state, she still gives us this gentle warning without letting her full intensity reign down on us.

I feel there are so many more changes to come - we're still at the beginning of the 16 years of Pluto in Capricorn (it actually started at the end of 2008), a time of great transformation. The last time this configuration hit us, we had the American Revolution and the people born during those 16 years grew up to have the French Revolution. We've got changes coming in every aspect of our lives and physical changes to the planet as well.

If we see events like this as annoyances and wait for them to pass so we can "get back to normal", I think we're missing the point. What happens if this eruption lasts for two years, like it did the last time? What will that do to our normal travel plans? Or any of the other alterations caused by that amount of ash in the atomsphere? Are we ready to deal with it?

I think we should be. Or at least look at this change as an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. Now is the time to let the Earth show us where our focus needs to be to learn how to survive this challenging time. She's always given us messages but with mankind in our full "power over" mode, we've not noticed them.

With the changing of the Piscean Age into the Aquarian Age, we're finishing "mankind" and becoming "humankind" with more awareness and responsibility. If we now listen instead of talk and tap into our own intuition and innate connection to the Earth, I think we'll be a lot better off. Her messages are very clear. Take a moment to look at things from her perspective and be ready.