From the Tarot of Durer, the Seven of Wands; from the Philosopher's Stone, "Tension:"
The booklet that comes with the Durer explains this card as "the ability to act and avoid problems." Yet this guy is sitting on his bum and has hidden most of his body behind his shield. There doesn't seem to be anything that suggests being proactive, instead he appears to be hoping the lion on his shield will scare people away so he can continue to sit there. He's living in the illusion that if he pretends there's nothing to deal with, maybe it will just go away on its own. However, he's got himself sandwiched between a row of staffs and a shield which tells me on some level he knows otherwise.
The boulder and earth seem to be having such an effect on each other that a fissure has developed. When we experience a healthy dose of adrenaline, we get pumped up to take flight or fight. Either way, we are dealing with the situation that confronts us. But the Philosopher's Stone card shows what happens when the stress becomes so great that we freeze instead. We start coming apart physically, emotionally and mentally. My advice to the soldier would be to do something, anything, that is different from his habitual reaction. The result can't be much worse than what's about to happen now.
Unfortunately I am too familiar with the attitude of this guy. Freezing and pretending their was nothing wrong used to be one of my coping mechanisms. I am becoming more and more a fighter and I like that. but flight can be a good alternative. I've also learned to chose my battles wisely :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, I would fight every battle (even those not worth fighting). Now I've gone to the opposite extreme, and prefer to leave. :D But I have had my head buried in the sand too, which I think is worse than fight or flight in some ways.
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