No Strings Attached

From the Anna K. Tarot, the Five of Pentacles:

It's cold and snowing, and the tarp put up for a makeshift shelter looks pretty pitiful.  M. Scott Peck said, "Life is difficult," but he also stated, " Community requires the ability to expose our wounds and weaknesses to our fellow creatures."  If I need help and want help, I must stop trying to act as if I am fine and reach out to others.  The elderly woman ministering to the elderly man in this image is touching; she doesn't look like she has many resources herself, yet she shares the one thing most people hold onto the tightest - her time.  As a giver I've thought, "Will they expect me to keep doing this?"  As a receiver, I've thought, "What will I have to do to pay them back?"  These are the type of thoughts that keep me isolated from others.  There will be days when I will have the chance to be the one to offer help and days I will need to ask for it.  Both sides require opening a closed heart.

From the Green Man Tree Oracle comes "Elder:"

From sacrifice comes restoration.

People these days just don't understand sacrifice.  I often hear a parent or spouse say, "I sacrificed so much for them, but I didn't get anything in return!"  The root of sacrifice is giving without expecting anything to be given back.  There's no quid pro quo - this for that.  I find it hard to do a good deed or kindness without at least some recognition.  But the fullness my soul hungers isn't going to come from some ego-driven action, it's going to come from compassion with no strings attached.