Color-Coordinated Cushions

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Eight of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Cards, Competition:

You think stress is finding the perfectly color-coordinated cushions for your new $10,000 sofa.

― Liane Moriarty

Yesterday in the early evening, our internet went out. Since our TV and computers depend on our Wi-Fi connection, we were not happy. Of course, it seemed like a major ordeal rather than just an inconvenience. It was easy to overlook the fact that the heat index was 96F at the same time because we have a nicely air-conditioned home. Now had that gone out, it would have been something to be truly concerned about. The Eight of Swords is a situation in which we feel controlled by people or circumstances, like this spoiled looking young lady with her wrists loosely bound. But we can choose to stop narrowly focusing on what is wrong and look for any action we could take that might help (while also being appreciative of what is going right). Competition has the same sort of issue; we become obsessed with the other person or group that looks better or has more than us. Yet wouldn't it be more beneficial to see how we could improve ourselves, using that as a yardstick instead of comparing ourselves to others? Where we put our focus will determine whether we make progress or spin our wheels in frustration.