Endings and Outlooks

From the Cosmic Tarot, Death; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, "Hope:"

          Maybe it's the bird perched on his bony finger, but this Death doesn't seem intimidating to me at all. He reminds me of Discworld's Death, lover of cats and kittens, who is more of a hero than villain. The destruction around him looks similar to what was left behind when the flood waters receded here in 1994 (with less mud). Watching the waters rise higher and higher, I remember well the emotional reactions back then. First came the fear of the impending catastrophe, which was followed by numbness and then grief for the losses. As with any ending, hopefully there is acceptance at some point; I embrace my feelings yet become willing to let them go. No amount of anger or sadness will rewrite history. The Hope card shows a young man planting a tree. With the right care, it might produce apples in a few years. Or not. That is the tricky thing about optimism - staying positive without building a concrete expectation of what happiness will look like. The tree might not produce apples, but it might provide shade and beauty. Without assumptions, I can welcome what comes.