9/29/12-9/30/12—Giving Yourself Props

Weekend Reading: Seven of Pentacles from the Tea Tarot by Marcia McCord. (Marble chose tonight's deck with her mouth and warped a few cards in the process. *heavy sigh*) Give yourself the chance this weekend to take time out and give yourself appreciation for your hard work. Enjoy a relaxing cup of tea. A long bath. A night out. Reward yourself for all you do. Acknowledge all you do. That last point is key. Too often we just toil and toil and feel like we're not making progress...or like we're not doing enough. Take time this weekend to really assess all you DO do in a day. Sometimes it helps me to compare my life to when I was a teenager and slept all the time. I do tons more now and am not nearly so young and energetic. You work hard to keep your life in line. Give yourself the props you deserve. 

9/21/12—Romancing Your Relationships

Today's Draw: The Knight of Cups from the Lenormand Tarot. When was the last time you told a friend, partner or colleague something you really appreciate about them? When was the last time someone did that for you? Are you keeping the "romance" alive in your relationships?

The Knight of Cups is the tarot's romantic...the one who rides in on his white horse and sweeps you off his feet. 

This week is about relationships and so the way I'm going to interpret this one is fairly quick (this week has been exhausting!). Here it goes: Say something nice to someone you care about. 

Really. Think about it. When do you tell a friend how much you appreciate them or how neat they are? Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget to just "romance" our friends. Or our mate. Or our children. Sure we do stuff and assume they know we appreciate them, but how often do you say something like, "the way you xyz'd the other day really meant a lot to me"? When do you single out the LITTLE things?

And I'm also not talking about saying "I love you." That's one of those automatic things that rolls off the lips. No, I'm talking about noticing one of the many little things they do every day to support the relationship. Or pointing out something they did without thinking—because that's who they are—that made a difference to you. 

The funny thing is that I did this twice today before I ever pulled this card. I told one friend, who is also a colleague, how frickin' awesome she is and how much I respect her as a professional and not just as a friend. And I thanked another person today for something they did without even thinking...something that was profoundly meaningful to me. It was one of those things that I could have so easily let pass—to her it was nothing. But then she never would have known what a difference she makes in the lives of others. 

Somewhere in your world someone has done something to pick you up when you were down. Or maybe it's something that they just do because they're them. Give them the gift of letting them know. Out loud. Let them see on your face how much they mean to you. And if you're on the receiving en, don't just brush it off. Take it in and hold it precious, because it is.