The Lovers

All you need is love.

I confess that today I picked this card out of the deck on purpose. How could I not; it's Valentine's Day! The focus for today is about the importance of love in our lives. Not only romantic love but familial love, friendship, loving oneself, a passion in your life for something. Where there is love, life seems sparkle. You feel invincible and there's nothing you can't do. There's a fullness that envelopes everything in a fuzzy, warm blanket and nothing can take the smile from your face.  So why shouldn't we try to keep ourselves wrapped up in it at all times? I have been finding love everywhere lately because I have been  specifically looking for it. (No, I'm not propositioning people on the streets.) What I mean is that several times a day I've been asking myself, "What's to love here?"  I always find some little thing to love no matter what the situation. When I can find something to love in having to pay over $8000 (!) in taxes this year (we live in an amazing country with incredible programs for our well being; how lucky are we!? It makes it easier to give up that amount.) I see the love in my every day life all the better. I believe it has changed my life profoundly. And as for that song "Looking for love in all the wrong places", there's no wrong places to find love. It's everywhere!

Tell me about your love. Who do you love, what do you love, where do you love being? What are you doing today to express the love in your life? Where did you unexpectly find love today?

Ace of Wands

Today could be the beginning of a powerful, creative burst of energy. 

A good day to start that new project!

Caylum, aged three, when he was at a big show at the Saddledome, said "Can you feel the fun in the air?" If I were asked to express what the Ace of Wands is about in one perfect sentence, that would be it. The excitement, the buzz, the jazzed up creative energy that seems to come from the air itself. It infuses you with such enthusiasm you feel like you can do anything. Approach your boss with that new idea you have, ask for that raise, take those belly-dancing classes, get that new haircut, eat something exotic, ask that cute guy (gal) down the hall to join you for a coffee. You can't go wrong today (even if you do, you won't care much) so just go for it. What have you been wanting to try but just needed the courage to do? If you try something and it goes wrong, what's the worst that could happen? How will your life change if it goes right? How much fun will you have trying?

Nine of Swords

The energy wasted on worrying about a loved one could be put to better use.

Worrying about a loved one is one of those activities that seems futile and yet we spend huge amounts of time doing it. We love them and want them to be happy. So we worry to the point where our own happiness is in jeopardy. Our time and energy could be put to better use if we first asked ourselves a few simple questions. I usually don't have to go further than this first one. Is it really my problem? Unless you are directly involved (and you probably aren't because then you'd be worried about yourself) then the answer will most likely be no. Is this person an adult making choices for themselves? Often the choices people make are not the choices we ourselves would make. Who are we to presume that the path we would take is the right path for someone else? What if, by our intervention, this loved one is not experiencing something challenging that would ultimately make their lives richer and wiser? Finally, is there anything we can really do to change the situation? The only thing we can probably do is be there to support whatever decisions your loved one makes and try to sever your emotional state from their life. I'm not suggesting that these few questions will free you from worry but they will perhaps put things into better perspective. After all, don't you have enough to think about in your own life without having to manage someone else's? 

Is there someone you are worried about and why? How does your worry help the situation? How does it make it worse? Does this person know you worry about them and how do they feel about it?

Queen of Wands

                 Being confident will reveal the creative, charming, beautiful person you have inside.

      As I meditated about this card I realized that confidence (this week's theme apparently) is quite powerful and people with an abundant supply of it are usually the most successful people we know. They also seem to be talented and quite attractive as well. How can we mere mortals ever compete with that? So we stand as wallflowers on the outskirts of life wishing we were more like those charmed creatures and less like ourselves. And in that wishing is precisely where we miss out on probably the most powerful tool we have access to. Have you ever seen that show "What Not to Wear"? They take ordinary people with no style and teach them how to dress, give them a makeover and magically, they are transformed into confident, beautiful people full of energy and potential (Queen of Wands). Can makeup and better clothes be the secret magical formula to great success? Um, no... but feeling good about ourselves is. It shows how we sabotage ourselves by wishing we didn't have pear shaped bodies, large ears, big feet, bad skin, long arms, etc. when there's no changing the fact that we do. They teach people to embrace themselves and see the beauty they already possess. Once these ladies see how beautiful they really are on the outside, they open up to the beauty on the inside and that is the magical transformation that takes place. Accepting that we are truly beautiful no matter how we are shaped and that beauty comes from within. Makeup and clothes give us that kick start but the Queen of Wands energy that is in everyone is what takes the baton and runs with it.

Nine of Pentacles

                                       Be confident, self-reliant and trust your decisions.

     I love the message of this card. It's about taking all that you have learned and experienced and applying it to your life in a way that makes the final product tailor-made for you. It's about trusting that you will make the right decisions for yourself because you have confidence in the wisdom that has probably been hard earned and well-deserved. It's about knowing who you are and loving that person enough to want the very best of what life has to offer and not settling for less. You've made sacrifices in your life to achieve your goals but in the end, it's all been worth it. So carry that confidence with you in all your endeavours, knowing that you have a most powerful person working just for you. Just look in the mirror.

King of Swords

                     Take the emotion out of your observations today and think before you speak.

     I am an emotional person. Most of the time, my first impressions are emotionally based and sometimes have mislead me into believing something that just wasn't true. How many times have I made a decision only to regret it later after careful thought? I'm embarrassed to say.  But for today, I will try to see the world objectively rather than subjectively. I confess that sometimes I pretend I'm in a movie or on the Holodeck on the Enterprise (giant nerd, I know; this amuses Stephanie very much) because if I imagine that I'm in a story then I can see a lot more of what is outside my head. Weird, right? But it works! By taking my emotional self out of the scene I can see what's going on for everyone else and then I feel like I can be a better judge of the situation. And that is what the King of Swords is about.
     Have you jumped to the wrong conclusions because you didn't see all aspects of the situation? Have you reacted to a moment in a way that you later regretted because you didn't think it through? Sharing sometimes makes it better, so let me know what faux pas you have committed by jumping the gun. What tricks do you have to keep yourself from making them again?

Two of Pentacles

                                          TGIF! Fill your day with laughter, fun and friends.

     We mostly learn or life lessons during challenging times but this card suggests there is also a lot to learn during fun times, if only we pay close attention. I don't normally take the time to think about what's going on when I'm enjoying myself, I'm too busy having fun! But I always look back on those times and think "Man, I wish I could feel like that all the time." Full of good humour, light of spirit, not a care in the world. There's no reason that I can't be like that in stressful times as well if only I can keep myself from switching into stress mode. Lately, during those challenging times, I have asked myself " What would Ricky do?" as in Ricky Gervais. In all the interviews I have seen him do, he always seems to be in such good spirits, seeing the world as one big, absurd comedy sketch. And when you come to think of it, it really kind of is.  I have, in the past, thought that if I was watching my life on a sitcom, I'd be laughing my ass off. It helped me put things into perspective and took the tension right of the situation. So, if you do nothing else today, just have a laugh at yourself. It'll do you good.

Death

           Stop hanging on to what is no longer working for you. Open yourself up to new possibilities.

    Ah, Death. I love this card. Everyone is always very freaked out to draw this card but for me it is one of the most positive cards in the deck. Death signals it is time to discard any systems that no longer resonate within your soul. It calls for deep inner probing, although for mostly everyone there is that one thing that will pop into their mind when I suggest there is something not working for them. The deep probing is to determine why they persist in hanging on to it. 99% of the time it is fear of what lies beyond because in Death, we don't know what lies beyond. (We humans are actually hardwired with to need to know. It's a scientific fact that if we can't find the reason for something our brains will make something up for us. Just think about that for a minute or two!) But there is something profoundly liberating by shedding the burden of negative energy that opens you up to possibilities that are often hidden by that heavy load. Opportunities suddenly seem to appear when you rid yourself of toxic people, situations and ideas.
      Start small, if you have to, by taking one negative thought you have about yourself and questioning it. Is it really true? Probably not. How has it harmed you or held you back? Who would you be, what could you accomplish if this idea was cast aside? Is there any reason for you to keep believing it?
      That was easy wasn't it? Now do it again. Work your way up to those seemingly hopeless situations and ask the same questions. You will be very surprised at what happens.
     I am very interested in hearing about any thoughts you have about my posts and happy to answer any questions.

Five of Pentacles

                              
                    Switch your focus from what you don't have to what you do have.

        This is a state of mind I have locked myself into many times as I'm sure mostly everyone has. We look at our lives and see what we lack in material goods and physical attributes. We moan and groan about having no money, being too fat, being stuck in a dead-end job, being bored and tired, having a nose that's too big... well, I could go on forever. People are always very open about all the things that are wrong about their lives and we empathize with them, sharing what's wrong with ours. What if we made a promise to ourselves that whenever we start this kind of talk, we switch focus and speak of all the great things we have and how much there is to love about our lives? What if, when we began the litany of lack, we stopped and began to list the abundance? I sat down with pen and paper to write down all the things that are wonderful in my life and have been astounded by fabulousness of it all. Seeing it there in front of me made me realize that what I believe is true and what is actually true are two different things.  How often does this happen? More than I care to admit and I am betting the same goes for you. Take a few minutes today and write down all the things that are wrong with your life and then all the things that are right. I'm going to keep my list and update it frequently and read it every time I start feeling like that person on the Five of Pentacles.
         Did you make your list today? How did you feel after you finished it? Are you astounded? Tell me about some of the amazing people and things in your life.

Seven of Wands

                                    Fight the good fight. Stand up for what you believe in.

     You know when someone or something stands in your way, tells you that you can't or won't and you get all "oh, bring it on, baby". That is the seven of wands. There a kind of perverse enjoyment in the energy of fighting for what you truly believe in and knowing that you can't lose. Often, for me anyway, that someone or something is that bitch who lives in my head. I'll get the notion to do something empowering and she'll try to talk me out of it. She'll get all whiny "but you're just a weak woman, you can't do that, why bother when its all going to hell anyway, you're too old, blah, blah, blah" I have decided that I'm going to give all those ideas a good go and I really don't give a crap anymore if they work out or not. I have finally clued in to the wisdom of "It's not the destination but the journey that's important." What you learn along the way, about yourself and your world, that's what's important. TO REALLY LIVE (I've hit the caps button by accident but it feels right so I'm leaving it that way). Yes, TO REALLY LIVE, to participate in life, to be engaged, to fight mediocrity with confidence and gusto. And sure, I'm a little bit scared but the alternative is to sit on my butt and slowly fade away. So, bring it on, baby and get out of my way!