On the Road Again

From the Granny Jones Tarot, the Knight of Wands; from the Button Oracle, Horses:

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.

~Willie Nelson

          This Knight and Willie would get along really well. They both know there are are plenty of adventures found in a life that is on the road all the time - new friends to meet and new places to explore. But what's the downside to this life of constant travel? Perhaps a lack of belonging; there is no piece of land where our roots can rest and no community to establish a deep connection with. There are few responsibilities and even fewer commitments (which sounds great but doesn't make a well-rounded, mature adult). Yet the Horses button ('freedom, nonconformity and spaciousness') is a reminder that there are plenty of pluses for those who travel too. It is easy to become entrenched in one's beliefs and opinions when tied to one place. But getting on the road allows us to see the challenges faced by others, the beauty of a variety of landscapes, and experience different cultures. Alternate viewpoints are easier to understand when we've stood in different places. So perhaps being on the road is a good thing, as long as we have a home base to which to return.

Loss and Freedom

  The card drawn today from the Granny Jones Tarot is the Five of Buttons (Pentacles):

Poor potato-head fellow...  He's got a "Dear John" letter in one hand and a bill notice in the other.  Even with a bum leg and tattered clothes, it appears he's being robbed of what little he has left (burglar in the background).  The fives in tarot deal with the challenges of being human - what we gain, we can lose.  I've pared my life down to simple things, but I would be upset if I lost these, particularly my health.  But on some level, I know I am more than what I own or my body.  The one ray of hope (quite literally) that Granny gives in this card is the sun emerging from behind the cloud, shining on what appears to be a doorway on a hill.  Perhaps there are people waiting there to help him - a doctor, a job, friends, or a new relationship.  But he's got to stop crying long enough to make his way up that hill...

     From the button collection today was drawn "Horses - freedom:"

"To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." ~ Nelson Mandela

I was lucky enough to camp on Cumberland Island, GA for a week, where there are herds of feral horses.  I will never forget, as I was cooking breakfast one morning, seeing them come thundering by on the way to  the seashore.  Their power and freedom was almost tangible.  This button reminds me that there are things I have and hold on to that seem important, yet when I lose them, I realize what freedom that loss has given me.  "More" often brings more things to worry about and more obligations.  Letting them go is not necessarily a bad thing.