Thursday, March 22, 2012

3/23/12—Keeping An Eye on Your Back

Today's Draw: Seven of Arrows from the Sacred India Tarot. Do you think someone or some group is out to get you? If not, is it possible you should? Are you the kind of person who keeps their friends close, but keeps their enemies closer?

I'm going back to our old routine this week because I won't have time to do the week-ahead write up tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get back to that next week, though the week-ahead, nature-themed posts were always meant to be a temporary fixture. 

That said, this card speaks of erratic energies (much like those that have knocked me off discipline this past week with my posts!) The card warns of things going on behind the scenes, of dissent in the ranks and of the need to play your cards close to your chest. The card advises diplomatic and discreet behavior in dealing with others. 

There are times, especially when we feel vulnerable, that we tend to work things up in our heads more than necessary. We see conspiracy. We engage our powers of suspicion. But none of this means we're obligated to join in with the group, even if the conspiracy is working in our favor.

This is a great follow-on card for yesterday's entry, because the guy in this picture is just sitting all these behind-the-scene things out. He's paying attention, but not getting involved. Waiting for the dust to settle. Like yesterday's card, he's separating himself from the conflict to gain perspective. Unlike yesterday's card, however, he's conscious of what's going on around him.

I suppose I've felt this way a few times over, say, the past six months or so. Whether the behavior is passive-aggressive or aggressive-aggressive, it turns me off. Now we're all guilty of passive-aggressive behavior at one time or another, so I can't say I'm innocent. But when it's used against me, the person rarely ever sees the results they want. 

Many years back I was the focus of what I can only call bullying. I won't say I was entirely innocent in the conflict, but long after I had retreated, the "gang" kept coming after me. The more I withdrew, the angrier they got. They wanted to "break" me...get a reaction out of me. They wanted me to dip to their level in order to prove that I was just as underhanded as them. Eventually I just retreated so much that they never saw me again. That's my MO. 

The way I see it, just because someone is engaging you in their game, doesn't mean you have to take part. The more you resist and the more you need to win, the more of yourself...your integrity, your honor...you lose in the process. 

One of my least favorite things people say is "keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer." That implies engaging your enemies and playing a game where they think you're cool with them. That sort of thing just keeps feeding energy into the dynamic and keeps you tied to people who don't support you, imo. I used to fight back, but these days I'm happy to hand them the win and retreat, knowing that the real winner is me because I'm getting them out of my life.



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