Listen, Ask Questions

From the Wheel of Change Tarot, Strength; from the Oracle of the Dreamtime, Reconciliation:

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.

– William James

Do you ride your inner beast, or does it ride you? The normal human stress response falls into one of four categories: fight, flee, freeze, fawn (immediately acting to try to please to avoid any conflict). But often the threat is in our head only - there's nothing tangible to base it on. Our reaction is likely based on old mental patterns that run us like an automated machine. Reconciliation is a vision of the council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, a desire for respect, equity and justice for all people and beings, including the land itself. Such an action requires an honest appraisal, especially our own faults and assumptions. Both of these cards bring to mind a quote from Fred Rogers: “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”

Hands-On

From the Spirit Within Tarot, the Page of Pentacles; from the Answer Deck, 'Reconciliation:'

          I'm a lot like this Page in that I'm a 'hands-on' kind of gal. If I were trying to learn a new game, I might read the instructions, ask questions of someone who's played before and watch a game in action. But until I actually give it a go myself, I won't quite grasp the whole of things very well. There's just something about the 'doing' that makes the pieces click together in my brain. As much as I like hanging out in the intellectual playground, it's the practical, in-the-moment, real world where I feel most balanced and centered. It won't be a surprise then to tell you I'd rather meet someone in a coffee shop for a conversation than trade texts, emails and voicemails. This preference is even more important to me if there is an amends to be made or a misunderstanding to iron out (as the Reconciliation card implies). Besides, I can't actually hug someone over a phone.

To celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation means to be wrapped in a warm embrace.

~ Pope Francis

Start Where I Stand

From the Wheel of Change Tarot, the Empress; from the Oracle of the Dreamtime, "Reconciliation:"

          Genetti says the Empress symbolizes "creativity in every realm of life." The apple trees in the background (one in bloom and one bearing fruit) as well as the apple she holds makes me ask myself: What are you growing that is healthy and wholesome? The basket of eggs between her feet suggests I think about what I am creating that is still in the first stages of infancy. Am I keeping these projects or aspirations "warm" with my attention, or has my effort wandered off somewhere more exciting?
          The Reconciliation card is lovely, illustrated with natural wonders and man-made wonders, native and non-native people, and various forms of animal life. This painting isn't a Dreaming, but a vision of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation that represents justice and equality for all. The earth and all its inhabitants sit at the same round table with equal importance. Hakanson explains the fruition of this vision begins by accepting the self, both strengths and limitations, and then ripples out to others. The Empress offers me the tools to create this peace, but I must start where I stand.

You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.

― Eckhart Tolle

Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. 

― Albert Schweitzer