A Practice and a Process

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Wheel of Change; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, Stabilization:

The Wheel of Change is always moving, adding and taking away things in our lives. There's no real time to settle in before we have new things to which we must manage or adapt. As Pema Chodron puts it, "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest." The goal is not to 'transcend' these changes - this is our life, after all - but to learn ways to skillfully deal with them. The anchor on the Stabilization card suggests we find a way to steady ourselves in choppy waters so that the mind doesn't get swept away by imagined impending doom. For me personally, this is a practice rather than a one-time solution, as Sharon Salzberg explains:

The process is one of continually trying to greet our experience, whatever it is, with mindfulness, lovingkindness, and compassion; it helps us to realize that everything changes constantly and to be okay with that. The effort we make in meditation is a willingness to be open, to come close to what we have avoided, to be patient with ourselves and others, and to let go of our preconceptions, our projections, and our tendency not to live fully.

Stubbornness and Stabilization

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Prince (Knight) of Pentacles:

Of all the knights in tarot, this is the one who will see projects and promises through to the end.  He's loyal, dedicated and practical, but he's got another trait as well - stubbornness.  Look at the way he has his arms crossed (and the bull on the hill over his shoulder); he's not going to give an inch.  Yet he is not being obstinate just to prove a point - this side of his nature comes out when he feels like he is being bullied or manipulated.  He can withstand angry rants, tearful pleading, or intellectual attempts to make him feel stupid.  If he thinks he is doing what is right, he will not back down.  Plus, he has a few surprises that he's kept under wraps (see the way he hides part of the pentacle?).  Come what may, this card suggests I need to keep going until I reach the finish line.

     From the L'Oeil de Lotus comes "Stabilization:"

It doesn't require too much thinking to figure out what this card represents.  The heavy anchor on the bottom of the ocean reminds me to be grounded rather than bobbing helter-skelter in a sea of emotions.  Down on the sandy bottom, there is a sense of peace and detachment.  Let the waves crash above as they will - I don't have to get caught up in them.