(From tarot.com's horoscope today)

You are right on the edge of something grand and yet you may be hesitant to trust your intuition now, even if you can feel it in your bones. You may be a bit overwhelmed, even frightened, at the magnitude of what lies ahead. Nevertheless, maintain a state of high alert, for it's crucial that you're ready to make your move at a moment's notice. There's no need to rush anything; you'll know exactly when to act.

In human life time is but an instant, and the substance of it a flux, and the perception dull, and the composition of the whole body subject to putrefaction, and the soul a whirl, and fortune hard to divine, and fame a thing devoid of certainty. And, to say all in a word, everything that belongs to the body is a stream, and what belongs to the soul is a dream and vapour, and life is a warfare and a stranger's soujourn, and after-fame is oblivion.

What then can guide a man? One thing and only one, philosophy. But this consists in keeping the daimon within a man free from violence and unharmed, superior to pains and pleasures, doing nothing without a purpose, nor yet falsely and with hypocrisy, not feeling the need of another man's doing or not doing anything; and besides, accepting all that happens, and all that is allotted, as coming from the same source, wherever it is, from which he himself came; and, finally, waiting for death with a cheerful mind, as being nothing else than a dissolution of the elements of which every living being is compounded. But if there is no harm to the elements themselves in each continually changing into another, why should a man have any apprehension about the change and dissolution of all the elements? For it is according to nature, and nothing is evil according to nature.

Rob Brezsny:

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You can drive a car even though you have only a vague idea of how the engine works. You can swim despite the fact that you're unfamiliar with the laws of physics and the intricacies of biology that underlie your ability to pull off that feat. Please keep this in mind as you weave your way through the interesting challenges of the coming days. It won't be crucial to reach a deep understanding of what's going on. Far more important is that you trust your intuition to show you the right thing to do and say at the right time. Knowing the big picture won't be essential to mastering the ever-changing details.

Today's Sunday feels remarkably like one where all that's missing is my dad; it is one of those lazy, cool, breezy Sundays where we're all at home and music that he'd play is on the computer (though not as loud as he'd do it), a curry-dominant lunch. I feel sad, and miss him a lot. My mum has been cleaning out a few of my things. I have many stuffed toys from my childhood, and I remember all their names and what I did with them.

Among them are two stuffed dogs, one cream and one brown, I got them as a gift from my uncle, before my brother was born. My dad fixed one of them when the seams below one of the ears burst. He stuck some masking tape there and wrote my name on it. I think I was two, where my dad was like my whole universe.

Written for someone who won an auction for a story on Facebook :)

He slowed down to make way for the trike, as it creaked urgently down the path. It was the neighbour's four-year old, Sophie, always in pink and with the shiniest eyes he had ever seen.  "Hell-o Uncle Toooom," she'd say, wheeling past, and today was nothing different.

He bent down to pat those bouncing ebony curls and said "I'll see you later Sophie? At the big surprise birthday party I'm holding for my wife?" "Yessir," she replied with a toothy smile, chubby little legs pedalling fast.

He couldn't help smiling in return, and touched the little box in his coat pocket. Nestled inside was the golden locket he had promised his wife all those years ago, when they were struggling to start their new life together.

Things are indeed looking up, Tom thought... another grin bubbled up inside him as he remembered their first date.

When I read it I was wondering almost all the way through… “what is so great about this that some consider it a classic?” I admit I found hard to keep interested in it, as each (short) chapter seemed to hint at something, a globally-shared condition of humanity; appearing only to say more by leaving things unsaid.

From Rob Brezsny:

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Many of us don't always know what we feel. At times we may have a vivid sense that we feel *something,* but we're not sure what it is. That's why musicians, writers, actors, and other creative people play such a crucial role in our emotional lives. Their work can help us articulate the mysteries unfolding within us. But here's the problem: There are some artists out there who aren't very smart or original; they express only the most hackneyed and superficial feelings. If we look to them for illumination, we're cheated. So your next assignment, Leo, is to home in on the enigmas that are swirling within you by seeking the guidance and inspiration of only the very best artists: those who have cultivated a high level of proficiency in their heroic struggle to find meaning in the fascinating chaos that surrounds us.

Rob Brezsny's gem for Aug 2 week:

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Barbara Sher's self-help tome is called *I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It.* In one sense it's designed for beginners -- young people who are just learning how to identify meaningful goals to pursue. But in my opinion, every one of us periodically needs to revisit the mode described in the book's title. For instance, maybe you've accomplished a dream you've worked on for months or years, and require a jumpstart as you seek your next big project. Or maybe some desire that motivated you for a long time has faded in its intensity, and you're feeling blah and apathetic, in need of redirection. Does any of this apply to you, Leo? I bet it does.

- Sure as heck does!