The Lion's Roar

From the Sacred India Tarot, the Wheel; from the Land Sky Oracle, Ahimsa:

Can you imagine opening without resistance to the aliveness, change and loss that is inherent in this existence?  Can you imagine opening in this very moment to the pleasantness and pain, the changing flow of life?  ~Tara Brach 

          In Buddhism, the Lion's Roar is the confidence and faith to be with whatever comes next, knowing we can work with it. Rather than repeat our reactive patterns according to what pleases or displeases us, it gives us the equanimity to be okay with life as it unfolds. This is not something that can be purchased; it develops through an ongoing practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness. [The deer often symbolizes the Buddha's first teaching in Deer Park, and the elephant represents training the mind.] Ahimsa means non-harming, or in other words, to be tender and kind with oneself and others. As we attempt to cultivate equanimity, it will help our progress if we use gentleness and compassion as our guardrails rather than self-pity or self-hatred. As the oracle's guidebook encourages us, we can be reflective rather than reactive in difficult circumstances.