An Honest and Gentle Look

From the Animal Totem Tarot, the Hermit; from the Blum/Gern Rune Cards, Nauthiz:

          The mantis has developed the art of camouflage and stillness; its lesson is to withdraw from the chaos and constant distractions of our lives in order to perceive life with more clarity. Do we have a purpose in life beyond simply surviving at one extreme or accumulating the most toys at the other? If we have ethical guideposts, such an assessment of our lives so far and the direction we're headed is likely not to be pleasant. Which is why Nauthiz - 'constraint' - shows up to put a leash on us before we dive back into our daily distractions. It represents those times we get sidelined, perhaps due to an injury or illness, and don't have a choice other than to slow down. Yet in the long run, we will reap the benefits from our self-inventory. As Pema Chodron explained, "The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently."