Telling the Difference

From the Prairie Tarot, the Page of Swords; from the Medicine Cards, Alligator:

Discernment is not a matter of telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right. —Charles Spurgeon

This fellow is obviously a more mature Page of Swords. Rumors and gossip (birds, dragonflies, leaves) swirl all around him, yet he keeps his sword tip in the ground. Half-truths and juicy tidbits can be easy to swallow if we aren't willing to track down reliable sources (without an agenda), ask questions, and uncover the facts. Alligators have a slow metabolism, so they digest food over an extended period; because they are cold-blooded, they lie in the sun to help increase their metabolism and digestion. Alligator's message is that we may have missed some important information in our assessment (it hasn't been 'digested' in our awareness). We need to check and see what we might have overlooked or consider if we may be unaware of a bias. It's been said that intelligence and wisdom rarely keep company, but if humility is thrown into the mix, we can consider that we might be wrong and recheck our judgment.