Flowing Down, Climbing Up

From the Tarot de St. Croix, the Eight of Cups; from the Archetype Cards, "Hero/Heroine:"

           I had a sleepless night last night, filled with dreams that I couldn't remember but that left me sobbing. I have no event to connect to such a night; I led the evening meditation group in gentle yoga followed by a relaxation period, then came home to a cup of chamomile tea before bed. When I finally dragged myself from under the covers this morning, I was in a mood (maybe I should put that in capital letters - MOOD). Moods can have the effect of a hallucinogenic drug on me; nothing appears in my fuzzy brain as it actually is in reality. Small things look insurmountable, people seem to intentionally irritate me, and I think I need to comfort myself with things like shopping on Amazon. But if I can be patient, avoiding any rash decisions or impulsive actions, my mood will pass. I can literally watch it fade and move downstream.
          The Hero/Heroine card reminds me that some of my greatest challenges are not in the outer world, but right between my two ears. I can make any mountain higher by imagining the worst, or I can simply pull on my boots and put one foot in front of the other. As Pema Chodron emphasizes, "My moods are continuously shifting like the weather." No need for my mental aerobics to give them hurricane strength.