I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Monday, January 4, 2016

Little Room for Egos

From the Urban Tarot, the Five of Wands; from the Principles to Live By Oracle, "Simplicity:"
          Two baseball fans, one who pulls for the Yankees and one who cheers for the Red Sox, have an arm wrestling contest. I imagine it got started over a discussion of who had the best team. At least with sports, there is usually a championship game to decide the better team. But businesses and other group relationships require a discussion of strategies to decide the best way to reach an objective. The conflict can be as mundane as a husband and wife arguing over the best route to take on a trip, or as complex as a new advertising campaign for a company. Yet different suggestions and ideas can be a positive thing. If I take the time to think over each one as I sift through them, I might find a gem I hadn't even considered before.
          The square is a symbol for Simplicity; to be simple means living a life that is moderate and uncomplicated. Relationships have a hard time with this concept when there is a struggle over how, when and where to do things. As soon as we bump into an opinion opposite from our own, we want to trash the person and bring up any past mistakes they made. Unfortunately, this takes the focus off the issue at hand; often whoever screams the loudest or is the most denigrating gets the prize. But Simplicity reminds me to bring things back to the basics - what here is most important? As Albert Einstein once said, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

8 comments:

  1. Sometimes it is so hard to be open to other people's opinions and ideas: to acknowledge my way is not always the best way.... :)

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    1. Amen, sister! :) I have to constantly remind myself that just because something works for me, doesn't mean it will work well for someone else or for a group as a whole.

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  2. arm wrestling...you should have seen Rob make his first loaf of bread yesterday. I had to drag myself from my death bed four times...

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    1. You have no idea how often your stories make me laugh and lighten my day! :D (But I do wish I could have been a bug on the wall watching, heehee.) I hope you are getting better...

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  3. Just yesterday I was singing and dancing the Shaker 'Simplicity' song...bowing and bending and feeling how profound that practice is. I am loving your Oracle!

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    1. Tis a gift indeed! :) I'm having Deb (aka the Alaskan Laser Maid on Etsy) to make me a wood-burned set of the oracle. I told her she was welcome to sell a set to anyone if they wanted one (no kickbacks to me), and I could send the print-out for them through email.

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    2. Very cool...though I must admit I'm rather partial to the fact of your own hand-breath-intention placed just so on the wood...especially if there's a waver of humanity or two here and there :)

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    3. Well, I did have to draw the sketches for the templates she'll use... :)

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