Don't Forget to Breathe

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Three of Swords; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Opportunity within Uncertainty:

One day you’ll round a corner, your path is shifted.

In a blink, something is missing. It’s stolen, misplaced, it’s gone...

Your path, as though channeled through a spectrum, is refracted, and has left you pointed in a new direction. —Kevin Kling

When we experience loss, we often react in either one of two ways: we try to eliminate everything that reminds us of that person or thing, or we try to hold on to everything that does remind us of them. Neither trying to cling to nor shove away a loss actually helps us heal (though I suppose it makes us feel like we're doing something). Grief is a process, a slow progression that allows us to gradually let go of what was and accept what is. Opportunity within Uncertainty suggests that even in our despair we can continue to embody compassion and kindness (for ourselves especially). We can look for beauty and embrace gratitude, even while we shed our tears. And as we do this, we pay attention to any small ray of light that may appear in our darkness; perhaps it can lead us back into the sunlight.

To survive we must return to our senses, touch, taste, smell, sight, sound.

We must let our spirit guide us, our spirit that lives in breath.

With each breath we inhale, we exhale.

—Kevin Kling