Our Greatest Strength

From the Victorian Fairy Tarot, the Moon; from the Haindl Rune Oracle, 'Ur/Uruz:'

          Twas the night of Winter Solstice and all through the garden, fairies dreamed while luna moths fluttered under the light of the moon. I spent most of the solstice night awake even after a cup of chamomile tea and a couple of melatonin. Just as the unconscious comes out in my dreams, it can also peek out in sheer exhaustion. My 'follow the rules,' rational brain will let the reins slip, allowing that shadowy horse to take off at a gallop. I've been trained by belt and cruelty not to cry, and even though I now know it's healthy, it's still hard for me. But my heart has been full lately, tender and raw from witnessing the suffering of others. And so on the darkest night of the year as I lay sleepless, I cried those tears I've been carefully holding in. The rune Ur/Uruz is translated as 'great ox,' and it implies great strength. I know intellectually that inner strength has nothing to do with outer toughness, yet my heart is still hesitant at times to take off its armor and be vulnerable. Perhaps tonight I will whisper Rumi's words to myself as I fall asleep: "Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart."