Emotions are symptoms of a person’s engagement with life. ~ Michael Schreiner
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Perhaps....
From the Spirit Within Tarot, the Five of Cups; from the Answer Deck, Vulnerable:
I grew up with a stepfather who allowed anger, but would not tolerate sadness and tears (they were seen as a sign of weakness). Other friends grew up in homes where anger was completely unacceptable (bad) and sadness was considered a side of compassion. Most people are taught that 'happy' is the state we should be in all the time. Yet as Schreiner says in the quote above, all emotions are a normal part of life, and each eventually ebbs over time. Yet the Vulnerable card shows what happens when we lose all perspective and self-identify with the emotion. We disengage from life and imagine we have no control over anything. Schreiner suggests that such a reaction is "an unconscious form of rebellion" because what we want doesn't sync up with reality. We suffer because we push back at life as it is, yet the bridge of acceptance continues to wait in the distance whispering, "Perhaps there is a better way."
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Just as well I didn't have any kids, my parenting skills would have been sincerely lacking...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure mine have been!
DeleteThis behavior reminds me of a screaming toddler in a shop who doesn't get what he wants. :)
ReplyDeleteJust got this deck in the mail today!
I really like the deck, but the lamination wasn't done well on my deck. I'm keeping it though. :D This deck could be used with any group without offending anyone, I think.
DeleteI used to know some online people who were in total denial about emotions. Part of their particular philosophy/cult was never to show emotion and to deride people that did. Talk about restricting the human experience. I noticed that all these people were divorced. To me this was just running away from feeling pain. Life is often painful but I think it holds true that if you don't feel bad emotion you can't recognize and celebrate good emotion.
ReplyDeleteIt's just part of being alive, waves surge in and ebb, you have to be patient about it.
It IS part of being alive, and I don't think running from it, stuffing it, or trying to stay busy and ignore it does anyone any good in the long run. Must have been a bunch of robots your were dealing with!
DeleteIt's funny, I don't think of vulnerability as being only a negative, only about being at the whim of others. I love Star cards where the figure is naked, precisely for that reason. We can choose to be vulnerable with others, offering them a part of ourselves, if it feels safe enough. That deep connection through each honouring the other's vulnerability can create something incredibly strong!
ReplyDeleteI guess there are times when we need to be discerning with our vulnerability. :)
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