From the Tarot of the Sidhe, Dancer Seven (Seven of Cups); from the Green Man Tree Oracle, Gooseberry (Iphin, Ifin):
When we must make an exciting choice, all the options can look like a grand adventure. But if the decision is tough - say between radiation, surgery or chemotherapy - the options can all appear as frightening monsters. It's not just that we are optimists or pessimists, it is that we fail to accept that life is full of joy and pain, of gathering and loss. Yet we don't have to view our options through one lens but simply as it is. Gooseberry (Ifin) has berries that are sweet, but it also has sharp thorns. One trait does not eliminate the other, just as life can be hard yet still full of goodness. There is no choice that won't at some point contain both.
My old Labrador Retriever Abby would go into our gooseberry bush and pull the berries off and eat them despite the thorns. She died 14 years ago and we still miss her, but remember her when gooseberries are mentioned. She was a rescue dog who’d lived her life on a chain and couldn’t even run she would get so winded. Six months with us and good food and regular walks and she was running in the woods and fetching balls and eating gooseberries. Life IS full of joy and pain! (Judy)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing Abby with me. :)
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