A lesson from this period is to stop, or be forced to stop, long enough to examine the basis of your joy, and if you have little or none, now is a time to take steps to recover it and to reinforce it. For you are likely to come to terms with its absence through situations that can make it very clear where your life lacks the gratification that you desire. Even if contentment imbues all that you do, this interval can test its validity by facing certain demands that you may prefer to avoid. Choices that you make now often imply or require obligations that you may resist or perhaps dutifully assume. One key is to accept the limitations that may impede your immediate satisfaction and in that acceptance you can begin to recognize the positive elements that endure despite any restrictions.

Financial responsibilities can emerge now. If you have a history of spending beyond your means, this can constrain you to cut back and to bring order to your buying patterns. As this often is a time of monetary contraction, you do well to plan wisely. While you may demonstrate more restraint in your material wants, you can miss an opportunity for long-term gain, financially or otherwise, by being too afraid to commit. Certainly, any agreements need close scrutiny, and all the elements must fall into their proper places. Otherwise you can assume liabilities that can affect for you a long while, but you can regret, for just as long a time, missing a proper fit.

Difficulties can surface now due to a lack of perspective of how everything goes together, of not recognizing the necessary ebb and flow that defines your existence. This is a time to appreciate the importance of less by foregoing, momentarily, the need for more and to value the meaningful people and experiences of your life that continue to anchor you regardless of whether you are on a peak or in a trough.