Our Turn

From the Alchemical Renewed Tarot, the Wheel of Fortune; from the Oracle of the Radiant Sun, Empathy (Moon in Pisces):

I've seen fire and I've seen rain

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end

I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend

But I always thought that I'd see you again

—James Taylor

The Buddhists call their Wheel the Wheel of Suffering - not because life is awful, but because we fail to grasp the impermanence of it. When things are going great, we suffer when they change; when things are difficult, we suffer because we think they won't change or won't change soon enough. It takes stepping into the hub of the wheel to see that everything is always in flux, and that it's not personal but a natural part of existence. Empathy is the ability to tap into and feel what someone else is going through, both their highs and their lows. As Mohsin Hamid put it, "Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself." This is a healthy exercise, not only for cultivating compassion, but also to remind us that whether we're atop the wheel or below it, it's just our turn to be 'it.'