Choose Responsibly

From the Nature Spirit Tarot, the Seven of Cups; from the Australian Wildflower Reading Cards, the Fairy Fan Flower:

          Seven calla lilies (the primary symbol of the Cups suit) are filled with other plants: cherry blossoms (beauty), walnut (wisdom), pears (love), nasturium (success), wheat (wealth), corn (abundance) and dandelion (spiritual connection). Personally, I was happy to see dandelion - an ordinary herb often labeled a weed - representing the spiritual. The pink-tongued skink from Australia has finely tuned senses, and thus is said to symbolize being skilled in the area of perception. It suggests that before I choose a cup, I should look at my motivation underneath that desire. What fears or hopes are driving my choice? When I feel empty, it is tempting to fill that void quickly. Yet if I want to choose wisely and with clarity, patience can be a friend. The Fairy Fan Flower is actually a small shrub; it can be propagated by layering (a low branch is covered with soil and eventually develops roots). My mind can do the same sort of thing by unintentionally feeding negative thoughts until fear or desperation take root. If I'm not paying attention, I'll start accepting these thoughts as reality instead of pausing to check for evidence. My choices and actions will then be heavily influenced by what is rooted in the mind. And though I might try to blame the results on someone else, the responsibility will be solely my own.