Old Shoes

From the Tarot of the Cat People, the Tower; from the Insectorum Divinorum, The Nest:

An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the hole in it.

— Robert Brault

We all hold old beliefs; they're like amulets designed to protect us. But we can get so comfortable with them that we ignore little changes until a big shift knocks us off our feet. We grasp for anything that promises solid ground, but we need to be careful that we're not putting our trust into another illusion. The Nest represents safety and comfort, a place that allows us to grow. Rather than relying on the group or institution that fed us false beliefs to begin with, we need to take time to look at our experience realistically and see where our ideas led us astray. As Vanessa Zuisei Goddard explained, "On the spiritual path, to study means to immerse yourself in the landscape and not just read the map."