Thorny People and Problems

From the Deirdre of Sorrows Tarot, Strength:

I firmly believe all people are capable of anything (acts of violence) if put in the right situation and given the right circumstances.  But some folks choose courage, compassion and patience time and time again.  They draw from a well of inner strength that goes much deeper than demands of the ego.  When I feel like I'm tired of doing the "right thing," I look at all the examples in my life who drink from this well daily.  There's the woman who looks after her elderly mother's needs while putting up with her biting remarks and grumpy disposition.  There's the friend who overcame her fear to leave an abusive relationship and is still in court a year later dealing with the wrath of the one she left.  Every where I look, there seems to be someone who though pushed to their brink, stands firm, refusing to give in to fear, pain or anger.  Today I'll do my best to stand with them.

From the Victorian Flower Oracle comes "Wild Rose:"

When I visited my mom yesterday, we walked out to her backyard to look at all the trees and plants.  Along her back fence is a Cherokee rose whose blooms are beautiful in the the spring.  But the thorns on that vine look like they could carve a Thanksgiving turkey!  The companion book offers the descriptive phrase "a thorny question" for this card.  Like the Cherokee rose that offers both beauty and pain, sometimes making a decision or finding a solution isn't easy.  Often what is the easiest way is not always the way of compassion or courage.  That's when I need to rely on that inner well above...