Moss Gathering

From the Albano-Waite Tarot, the King of Pentacles; from the Rumi Cards, 'Before you pierce:'

"A rolling stone gathers no moss" is attributed to  Publilius Syrus, and was the proverb that popped into my mind upon seeing this very green King of Pentacles. The saying was intended to mean that people who never settle down and forego all commitments and responsibilities have empty pockets. Yet this King seems to have gone to the other extreme; he's got the wealth but seems overgrown with the burden of duties and obligations. Rumi's quote comes from a composition that also says: "Each time that builders come to repair an old building, don't they begin by destroying what was there before?" To abdicate his position would be reckless, but he could begin to delegate and simplify to find sanity again. What could be cut away that is superfluous and expendable? 

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

~Hans Hofmann