You Can't Take It With You

From the Japaridze Tarot, the Ten of Gardens (Pentacles); from the Holitzka I Ching, Hexagram 36:

          The booklet describes the image of abundance in the Ten of Gardens as the accumulation of conventional wealth. The young girl at the front seems in awe of it all, yet I imagine it has lost much of its shine for her grandparents. I got a quote in my inbox this morning by Anne Morrow Lindbergh: " One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." When we're young, we spend our time and energy trying to collect and have it all; as we become older, we spend our time giving most of it away. Stuff just doesn't have the same allure as it did before. Hexagram 36 is sometimes called 'Clouded Perception' and indicates a profound darkness of the mind that occurs when we are doing inner work. It is a state of ignorance that can make us react rather than respond. In combining the cards, I see it as that moment when my mortality becomes real to me rather than an intellectual flirtation. It can be tempting to abandon life before I die, adopting a nihilistic attitude. Or I can choose to enjoy each moment as fully as I can, realizing each day has a signature that cannot be replicated.