Tuesday, January 24, 2012

1/25/12—Being Human

Today's Draw: Three of Swords from the Whispering Tarot. How do you handle bad news and heartbreak? Do you think you'll ever reach a place where you lose the ups and downs of life and everything is just even? When you look at this card, which woman are you?

The Three of Swords is a card of disappointment, heartbreak and sorrow. It also covers news of illness, loneliness, betrayal, exits and fear of abandonment.

Hooray! That's your reading! Have a nice day!

Yeah, this card usually sucks to receive. But this PARTICULAR Three of Swords is very interesting to examine. 

In many decks, this card would be depicted as three swords piercing a heart, like it's some over-toothpicked hors d'oeuvre. But this one is so layered. An angry wind is blowing and it affects each woman in the card differently. One is thrown to her knees. Another turns away, either in denial or as a way of remaining strong. And the third seems nearly impervious, offering a helping hand. 

Which one are you when things go bad?

I think I can say I'm likely to be any of the three, depending on the situation or when it hits me. There have been big disappointments I've just accepted and walked away from. Fears I've turned my back on. And then some seemingly insignificant slights have affected me intensely. 

Heartbreak? Or party food?
Sometimes I feel like I should be more even. I mean, I know that things happen for the best and everything is temporary. The Zen thing would be not to judge the situation as good or bad. But there are more factors at play than faith and belief, aren't there? There are deep-set wounds that can come to the surface. Insecurities. Hormones. And that series of straws that build up in our lives, allowing just one to knock us over. And then, of course, there's the fact that we're human, no matter how spiritual we aspire to be.

I suppose if I could be a monk and not have to make a living or deal with anything but devotion, it would be easier to be balanced all the time. But that's not the case. As we grow and move along our paths, we can shed ourselves of drama. We can build our compassion and understanding. We can intensify our faith. We can meditate and move energy. And we can whittle down the extremes of rollercoaster emotions. But we will still have crappy days. And we will still *feel*. That's what we came here to do. 

The good news is that the winds eventually get tired of blowing us down. And the swords that block our retreat will be circumvented. And the sun will shine again. But instead of turning away from feeling or denying it because we "should be beyond that" on our path, we just got to feel it while it's there. Take its lesson. And move forward knowing it wasn't a commentary on our spiritual shortcomings, but an opportunity to be human. Like we're meant to be. 

2 comments:

  1. I really like the idea of "an opportunity to be human." I admit, I'm likely to get knocked down, and it may always be the way I take bad news, but I'm getting better at picking myself back up again, so in some ways I'm the middle woman, but I'm also the woman on the left, for myself. Progress, right? ;)

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    Replies
    1. I like the idea of being the helping hand for yourself. :)

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