5/16/13—Taking the Hardest Step

Today's Draw Classic*: Two of Wands from the Art of Life Tarot. Are you ready to leave a part of yourself behind? Have you made the decision to make it happen yet? Or are you still not ready to leave the comfort of where you are?

Today you get a classic post because I'll be guesting on an internet radio program during the time I usually write this post. If you want to listen, the show will be archived. Click this text to listen. 

Now to today's draw...The Two of Wands is a card of surveying possibilities and making plans. But sometimes we can get stuck in the process of surveying, planning, dreaming, envisioning and wishing, and never end up moving forward. And the reason for that is the J. P. Morgan quote on today's card:

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."

It sounds so simple, but it's really kind of hard. Where we are is predictable. It's safe. It's easy. We know how to maneuver it. And it keeps us in our "story"...the one we discussed yesterday. 

We have grand visions of where we want to go. We put our energy into looking forward. And it would great if we could close the door on who we are once we've landed safely in who we want to be. But we can't. We have to leap into that in-between world where one door is closed and the other is not yet open. 

There are times I'm very willing to enter that realm. And there are other times I cling to tightly to where I am out of fear of either the failure or success of who I want to be. At times like that, it's good to be reminded that we can't step forward without making that decision to lift one foot up and leave where we've been resting for so long. 

And the word "decision" is key. It's the difference between "trying" and "doing". Once you've made a decision, you have to move forward. The good news is that it's usually the hardest single step you'll make on the way to your dreams. 

*Taken from a post on 11/27/12

11/27/12—Taking the Hardest Step

Today's Draw: Two of Wands from the Art of Life Tarot. Are you ready to leave a part of yourself behind? Have you made the decision to make it happen yet? Or are you still not ready to leave the comfort of where you are?

The Two of Wands is a card of surveying possibilities and making plans. But sometimes we can get stuck in the process of surveying, planning, dreaming, envisioning and wishing, and never end up moving forward. And the reason for that is the J. P. Morgan quote on today's card:

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."

It sounds so simple, but it's really kind of hard. Where we are is predictable. It's safe. It's easy. We know how to maneuver it. And it keeps us in our "story"...the one we discussed yesterday. 

We have grand visions of where we want to go. We put our energy into looking forward. And it would great if we could close the door on who we are once we've landed safely in who we want to be. But we can't. We have to leap into that in-between world where one door is closed and the other is not yet open. 

There are times I'm very willing to enter that realm. And there are other times I cling to tightly to where I am out of fear of either the failure or success of who I want to be. At times like that, it's good to be reminded that we can't step forward without making that decision to lift one foot up and leave where we've been resting for so long. 

And the word "decision" is key. It's the difference between "trying" and "doing". Once you've made a decision, you have to move forward. The good news is that it's usually the hardest single step you'll make on the way to your dreams. 

8/8/12—Becoming One With Oneness

Today's Draw:  Two of Wands from the Art of Life Tarot. Are you sometimes impulsive about the way you think about others? Do you find yourself "sizing people up" the minute you meet them? How can you change the way you think about others to be even more inclusive than you already are?

It's Day 3 of Oneness Week (which by the way, can be tongue twisting if you say it multiple times fast) and the Art of Life is going to make it easy on us. First, oneness is a term about seeing yourself in others...seeing the similarities in all others, rather the differences. Over the past two days you've done a lot of soul searching and seen how certain ways you've been thinking add to the very issues you abhor in this world. If you don't believe me, go back and read the entries. We all agreed it's all YOUR fault. :D

So now that we've determined that, what do we do about it? Well, the Art of Life has an answer for us with a quote from J. P. Morgan: 

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."

Simple, but profound. 

So that's our first step—to make a decision to not continue seeing others as separate from us, whether they're criminals, movie stars or a little of both. And the second step is hidden in the Wands aspect of the cards which, by the way, all three of our cards this week have been. 

Among other things, wands are about passion and impulse control. So now that you've recognized "certain types of people" that annoy you or that you label with unflattering terms, stop...haha. When you see yourself going down that path, re-adjust your thoughts. See the other as you. List all the things you have in common. Put your passionate side aside and see them as they ARE...360 degrees, and not just the angle it's convenient to see them from in order to make yourself the one who's superior in the dynamic.

For example, maybe you hate "people who complain all the time" and consider yourself separate from them. Set aside the fact that complaining about people who complain all the time makes you a complainer. We won't even go into that. But consider that they're human like you. They want a happy life, like you. Maybe they have kids like you, and have the same dreams for those children as you. They have good taste for furniture, like you....etc. See how it works? You stop the negative thought about the person and see them as yourself. They're really just like you except that they complain about things....while you silently swallow the poison of that which annoys you without comment...haha. 

We've all developed habits over a lifetime of thinking in terms of good and evil, mean and nice, valuable and worthless, black and white, smart or stupid....dualistic thinking where you're either one or the other. Further, we tend to see ourselves as the favorable one, while the other one is less favorable. Someone cuts us off in traffic and they're rude, arrogant, SOBs who probably kick their dogs, right? Well, maybe they're just like you, but with a bit of a control issue that you don't have at all, because you tried everything in your power, short of wrecking the car, to keep him out of your lane and he still barged in anyway, control-hungry SOB. Controlling people are the worst!

The truth is, none of us are good OR bad. We're all shades of gray. And while there are shades and tints, gray is gray. The prisons are full of people a couple shades more desperate than you are. Forbes billionaire's list is filled with people a couple shades more resilient than you are. The Westbrook Baptist Church is filled with people a couple of shades more closed minded than you are. There are situations in life in which you're desperate, resilient and closed minded and all things desirable and repulsive. Some hover closer to the poles on the dualistic scales than others. But none of us walks through this life being entirely one thing or the other. And if we've consciously put forth effort to get closer to a more desirable behavior, then we really can't judge anyone who's not quite "there" yet.

Whether "monster" or "angel", we're all the very same spirit in human form, just with different lessons to learn and paths to walk in this incarnation. And everyone that crosses your path is there to help you on your path and reflect back a part of yourself you may be in denial of. 

These principles and the idea of oneness isn't something you master overnight. I've been working on it for years and there are still people I see as separate from me...there are still groups I struggle with. That said, over time, I've swallowed some very big pills and accepted people into my heart and my self awareness (but not my life...this isn't about being besties with everyone) that I haven't really wanted to. But that's when you know you're reaching beyond and learning a lesson. 

What it's all about is a mantra exercise I mentioned a couple of weeks back. When Moses asked God his name, he said "I am that I am". And the mantra exercise goes like this...you identify yourself as everything and everyone you see. "I am that tree, I am." And by that, perhaps you embody the similarity of the tree's ability to bend with the wind with your own, for example. "I am that stream, I am (because we both flow with life's direction.)" "I am that traffic cutter-offer, I am (because sometimes I interrupt others when they don't want me to.)" See how it works? There is common ground everywhere you look. And when there's common ground, nothing is separate from you.