Just Keep Swimming

From the Mythic Tarot, the Seven of Cups:

Naive Psyche was tricked by her sisters into unveiling the identity of her husband, Eros. Of course now she's sorry and wants him back, but Mama Aphrodite does her best to make it nearly impossible. The seven cups all offer choices of things that might fulfill us, some of them a fleeting pleasure and others a lasting joy. But like Aphrodite, life doesn't serve up what we want on a silver platter (with a spoon included) just because we want it. As Psyche proved, it often takes dedication and effort fueled by a strong heart to reach the cup we seek.

From the Symbolon Deck comes "Moira:"

Moira was the personification of Fate, representing a natural order of things. We can kick, scream and rant that life isn't fair all we want, but it won't change what is. We may choose to become bitter and close our hearts and minds, or we can accept reality and look for other potential opportunities elsewhere. Using hindsight, it's helpful to remember how one blocked avenue led to another path with even greater results in the past. As Dora the fish advocated, "Just keep swimming."

Knowing One From the Other

From the Mythic Tarot, the Six of Pentacles:

In this illustration, Daedalus, an expert craftsman and architect from Athens, pledges his service to King Minos of Crete and asks for his patronage.  Most kings would be honored with such a show of homage, but Minos seems to be thinking things through before handing over his gold coins.  Daedalus, before fleeing to Crete, had murdered his nephew (and apprentice) because he thought the young man was going to surpass him in skill.  Would he eventually betray the king as well?  The Six of Pentacles involves sharing resources so that balance is restored, but it also cautions one to use balanced judgment in making such decisions.  A wise verdict realizes that actions speak louder than words...

     From the Symbolon Deck comes "Moira:"

The Ancient Greek word moira meant "portion" or "share," and personified the deity who assigned every man and woman their fate.  The Greeks would eventually divide her duties into three parts and assign them to the Three Fates.  Taylor Dayne sang a song called "You Can't Fight Fate," and part of the lyrics are:

You can run, but you can't run away
No matter what you do, no matter what you say
When it's meant to be, it's gonna be that way.

Now I believe there are things beyond my control that I must accept and deal with the best I can, but I also believe I'm responsible for the choices I make.  May I have, as Reinhold Niebuhr so eloquently put it, the "courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other."