Intentional Attention

From the Sheridan-Douglas Tarot, the Ace of Cups; from the Pages of Shustah, the Pregnant Mouse:

          There's no heavenly hand waving this cup under our noses - it just sits in a space with no embellishments. Humans often want to know exactly what is in a cup (relationship) before they take a sip and how it will make them feel. They want it placed in their hands with a linen napkin in their laps. But relationships don't work this way; we have to either take a risk or avoid the opportunity. There is no sure-fire certainty in any connection we make, and what develops will require a lot of effort from both partners to keep it nourished and healthy. The Pregnant Mouse card represents a fear of not having enough. While materially this may be a real concern for some, in the Ace of Cups world it makes me think of FOMO - the fear of missing out. The irony here is that we can only be fully aware of one thing at a time, and the better focus would be on choosing where we place our attention. Otherwise, all that time spent staring at our phones and computers might have some real-life consequences for our relationships.

What we pay attention to grows. This is not to suggest that we should willfully ignore our 'problems;' it is, however, to suggest that attention paid to solutions is far more valuable than attention paid to what is wrong, in our own life, in our friends and family, in the world.

—Jeff Kober