A Few Bumps Along the Road

From the Tarrochi Celtici, the Two of Water; from the Art of Asia Oracle, "Cat and Plum Blossoms" by Hishida Shunso:

An Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus, now extinct) hangs out with two water nymphs near a birch tree and a pitcher. One of the keywords for this card was 'welfare;' it fits nicely if the Two of Cups is seen as a partnership of some kind. Who doesn't want someone to have their back, to care for their well-being? The Ogham Beth (purification) and the Birch (renewal) however, suggest that this relationship is one in which there has been forgiveness, amends and restoration. Shunso's painting has a quote from Eckhart Tolle assigned to it:

I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats. 

Others - whether family, friends, pet or partners of any kind - teach us how to get along with those who are different from us. We learn how to trust, how to forgive, and how to set healthy boundaries. We learn how not to take things so personally and seriously. Isn't sharing our life worth a few bumps along the road?