The Balance of Success

From the Prairie Tarot, the World; from the Medicine Cards, Elk:

The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it.  –Anonymous

Attempts at forcing the world to submit to our whims and desires only create more challenges when we are trying to bring anything to completion. This wise tightrope walker has figured out what she can control, things she might influence, and situations she simply needs to accept to achieve her goal. Now, she finds herself having done what she set out to do. I'd bet she also took William Arthur Ward's words to heart: "A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life." Elk, knowing that our adrenaline rush of success will wear off soon, offers us the advice to pace ourselves if we want to maintain our stamina as we move from our present achievement to the next objective.

Moving and Transforming

From the Prairie Tarot, the Eight of Cups; from the Medicine Cards, the Elk:

          What makes us leave? In some situations, it is because we are looking for a drop of joy in an emotional desert. Other times, the pain and injury that comes with staying greatly outweighs the fear and grief of leaving. It's never easy. But the anxious uncertainty of what the future holds can give rise to excitement if we don't take our old ways of thinking and reacting with us. Elk brings the message of stamina. We are able to keep moving if we adopt a pace of sanity. Although we might know what we're getting away from, we don't know what we're heading toward. If we move too fast, we might miss it.

Although circumstances may change in the blink of an eye, people change at a slower pace. Even motivated people who welcome change often encounter stumbling blocks that make transformation more complicated than they'd originally anticipated.  ~Amy Morin

Watch that Sharp Tongue!

From the World Spirit Tarot, the Seer (Page) of Swords:

Most adults, watching this young girl balance a sharp sword on her hand, would say, "What are you trying to do? Lose a finger?" Those who are older and wiser know the risks of some actions, including the words spoken to and about other people. The Buddhist Monastic Code (The Patimokkha) gives some guidelines that I think all folks would do well to heed: “Do I speak at the right time, or not? Do I speak of facts, or not? Do I speak gently or harshly? Do I speak profitable words or not? Do I speak with a kindly heart, or inwardly malicious?” Just because I might think of something witty and clever doesn't mean it is the right thing to say.

From the Mystic Glyphs deck comes "Elk:"

I had to smile when I drew this glyph, as the male elk is known for his loud bugling call. Yet the book reminds me of the importance of belonging to groups, just as the elk (when antlers are shed and rutting season is over) band together for protection. And though honesty needs to be an important part of any association or group, the truth can be stated without the intention of harming. Some of my favorite words are from Rabbi Milton Steinberg who said, "When I was a young man, I admired clever people. Now that I am older, I admire kind people." Amen.