Be the Lion

This week I'll be using the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, created and self-published by Ciro Marchetti. I'll pair with it the Tea Leaf Reading Cards, created and self-published by Karin Dalton-Smith. Today's draws are the Five of Swords and Lion:

Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. 

―Robert Greene

Life coaches encourage us to be a winner, to overcome our opposition. Winning an argument can build our confidence and offer proof of our eloquence and intellect. Yet when victory is our only end goal, we often don't consider what we might inadvertently do to get there or what the ultimate cost might be. That mindset doesn't teach us to see with a wide perspective or to humbly consider that we might not have all the right information. Such an approach won't nurture any relationships either, except those who already agree with us. The Lion reminds us that it takes courage to walk away from such a situation rather than be saddled with a big load of rage and resentment. 

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower [source of the thought - the mind]. One only throws a stick at a lion once.

―Milarepa