Hard Truth

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, Death; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Black:

The hard truth is, terrible things happen in life that we can’t control, and somehow we do bear them. We bear witness to them.  –Frank Ostaseski

Theravada Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah taught his students about impermanence by holding up a glass and saying, "The glass is already broken." In other words, everything that we can touch or see will one day be gone. Is it possible to grieve our losses with mindfulness (without judgment)? If so, we might sense "a deep, deep loneliness and at the same time the connectedness of everything" (Robert Chodo Campbell). The message of the Black card suggests we "find richness from the dark night." Do we recognize the benevolent impact our loss had on us before it disappeared? Can we hold onto the meaning and gratitude that remembrance provides? And are we aware of those who support and encourage us as we grieve?

A Field Full

From the Prisma Visions Tarot, the Nine of Chalices; from the Secret Language of Color Cards, Black:

This image is uncannily like a photo I recently sent out on my husband's 74th birthday. It neatly sums up what life is like when you actually have time to pause and enjoy the birds you've been feeding and the flowers you've planted that are blooming. While some folks see this Nine as the "wish card," I also see it as the natural result of goodwill and kindnesses we've offered to others; our benevolence is returned back to us.The color Black is described as the richness of the dark night; I'd also describe it as the richness of the dark soil. What we plant in our lives will not only grow, it will produce seeds that create more of the same. What do you want your field to be full of?