Make Haste Slowly

From the Tarot of the Masters, the Nine of Coins; from the Key to the Kingdom, the Ten of Spades:

          "Morning Glories" by Winslow Homer has been chosen to illustrate the Nine of Coins; the illustration has a very relaxed, contented feeling about it. Ricklef writes that this woman "has created a life that suits her needs." The simplicity found in this moment Homer has captured reflects what suits my needs a well. A big home, expensive clothes and jewelry, the latest whatever - have never been the things that bring me happiness. As one quote phrased it, "I'd rather have daisies on my table than diamonds around my neck," describes me perfectly. My requirements are having my basic needs met with a few comforts: time for walking outdoors, reading, being with people I love, and creating. The verse for the Ten of Spades comes from a poem by James Russell Lowell called "Festina Lente" (Make Haste Slowly). It tells the story of a committee that decided to dock the tails of the tadpoles in a pond to make them turn into frogs faster.

'Lord knows,' protest the polliwogs,

'We're anxious to be grown-up frogs;

But don't push in to do the work

Of Nature till she prove a shirk;

Though the old bullfrog warned against it, they proceeded with their plan and thus killed all the baby frogs by taking away their ability to swim. The poem reminds me of the times I've injured myself - almost always the result of rushing to finish something so I could do something else. "Make haste slowly" encourages me to be mindful no matter what I'm doing. Every moment I can sit at that window and enjoy life if my attention is in the present.