endurance

Special Insight – ND #121

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Five of Stones – The Wildwood Tarot*

Special Insight

I’ve tried pulling cards for us over the past week or so, hoping to receive some special insight or a shift in perspective, but none of my usual ‘go-to’ decks felt right. Just as I mentioned last night, my unsettled feeling extended even to this part of my life. It felt weird to pick up one of my trusted advisors, settle my feet on the ground, close my eyes and ask for guidance – only to have the deck feel off. It’s hard to describe, other than to say it felt like I was getting a, “No,” either “Not today,” or “Not me.” (Meaning the deck was saying, “Don’t work with me tonight! Pick from another deck!”)

Maybe that seems odd, but over the years I’ve actually come to rely on those ‘weird’ feelings I get. Not only do I rely on them – I trust them. And amazingly, I can get a sense from all sorts of things: plants, animals, people, situations, so-called inanimate objects. You name it. As I sit here thinking about it, I suppose sometimes it’s actually difficult to isolate precisely what it is that’s ‘speaking’ to me (in a sense). Perhaps it’s simply my own spidey-sense.

Whatever it is, intuition or communication, I’ve come to trust it.

Forgotten Friend

I was thus filled with a sense of relief and, well, delight when I noticed the forest green velveteen pouch with the subtly embossed Celtic knot design. It was leaning casually against a ceramic coffee cup crammed with a multiplicity of pens, as well as a couple pairs of scissors and some random pencils. It was as if the bag materialized there; I don’t remember the last time I looked at it and really saw it, and I wonder how long it had been sitting on this small table.

When I picked up the soft pouch, I instantly recalled that it holds my Wildwood Tarot* deck. “Ah,
my senses said. Perhaps this is the deck that can give us some guidance. It’s definitely an old friend. So I drew the cards out of their resting place and started shuffling, holding that weird sense I’ve been feeling and just posing a “What is this/what do I do with this?” question to the cards.

I chose 5 of Stones (Pentacles in the traditional tarot) with 8 – The Stag (Strength in the traditional tarot) underneath.

Five of Stones – The Wildwood Tarot*

Five of Stones

When I look at this card, I see what I feel like right now: I’m incredibly lucky to have shelter from the raging, scary, thunder and lightning storm ‘out there’ right now. I’m mostly safe, I am surrounded by massive stones that seem to hover over me, protectively. Indeed, I can even see faces in the stones, so the protection of these stones that form a cave behind me feels millennia old. I have a fire to keep me warm and I’m apparently unscathed (dry and healthy). I can always retreat deeper into the cave if I need to (although it is dark in there, so who knows what or who else might be in there!).

And the key word associated with the card is right there: Endurance.

Perhaps, right now, that is the name of the game. Keep the flame burning. Take shelter. Listen to the counsel of my ancestors through the wisdom of the stones.

8 – The Stag – The Wildwood Tarot

The Stag

Underneath that card was The Stag. Powerful and primal, this card speaks to me of power rooted in connection to Nature, to my roots, to what I know is powerful and true. This Being is grounded and can definitely protect itself, both offensively and defensively.  His shield holds the Tree of Life – depicting the truth of “As above, so below.”

It looks like there’s a lot of tangled shit behind him, which I’m not sure how to interpret (other than how it may reflect the convoluted state of our minds, with all the propaganda inundating us).

Ultimately, I feel that the foundation of this message from the cards is that those of us who belong to the land (who are connected with and aware of it and all Nature), who remember their interconnectedness, will stand their ground and maintain their sovereignty. And I feel that applies to all of us, no matter where we live at the moment.

*affiliate link

(T+121)

You Just Never Know – Day 747

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Photo: L. Weikel

You Just Never Know

We’ve all heard the adage that we should never judge another until we’ve walked a mile in their shoes. And of course it’s an adage because it’s a truism, an expression of a common experience. The sticky part of this is that you just never know what shoes another person has worn. Nor do most of us know what anyone’s shoes are made of, where they’ve been, whether they were designed for how they’re worn, or how many times they’ve needed to be resoled.

I happened to have a couple discussions today with some people I care a lot about. Two main conversations took place with individuals who do not know each other, whose paths I don’t believe have crossed. If you were to meet them at a party or in the grocery store, you’d imagine their lives to be ones of relative good fortune. You wouldn’t be wrong in that assessment, and yet your conclusion wouldn’t be entirely accurate, either. Not by a long shot.

Photo: L. Weikel

Details

I’ve listened to the details of a lot of lives over the course of my own, and it never ceases to amaze me just how much some people are asked to endure. Whether the challenges consist of professional surprises that batter and smack them against rocky shores, the utter despair of comforting a child whose physical body seems incapable of finding peace or healing, discovering that the voices of a relationship blow past each other, unheard or misunderstood – most of these issues can be devastating in their singular experience. What’s astounding is realizing that a shocking number of people are, especially now, reeling from the experience of multiple traumas to heart and soul at one time.

We are living amongst the walking wounded. We’re also living amongst the bravest and most courageous of souls.

I imagine every single person reading this post is holding up their end of probably at least two or three deeply troublesome and thorny burdens. Attempting to compare them serves no purpose. The true point is that all around us our friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and loved ones are dealing with ‘stuff’ that threatens to grind us down to emotional nubs.

Different shoes. Some more worn down than others. Some may have lost any semblance of ability to protect the wearer from the road they’re traveling. And yet they – we – carry on.

It seems we’re all being pushed by forces far greater than us to face our challenges. To change if we must. To exercise compassion. To walk beside each other and not compare our struggles but support each on their – and our – own unique path.

Lots of shoes.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-364)

Face to Face – Day 676

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Spotted Lantern Fly – Standoff; Photo: L. Weikel

Face to Face

There are a lot of different things I’ve considered writing about tonight. But it’s a lot. Everything going on right now is calling on us to figure out who we are and what we believe in, and that can be overwhelming on the best of days. Sometimes it feels appropriate to address what we’re all dealing with, face to face, precisely because we’re going through an existential crisis – both individually, in many cases, and most definitely as a country.

But I’m also acutely aware that we can only take so much. At least, I assume you sort of feel the way I do: I care. I am vociferously passionate about the myriad challenges we’re facing as a country (and a planet). But at the same time, it is abundantly clear to me that we need to pace ourselves. We need to make sure we don’t make the mistake that some long distance runners (or even shorter distance, I suppose) make when they spend it all just a little too early and ‘hit the wall’ just short of the finish line. That’s just heartbreaking to watch when it happens (and I imagine it must be an utter nightmare to personally experience).

I’ve met my enemy; Photo: L. Weikel

First Face

So tonight I’m just going to share a couple of different face to face encounters I’ve had over the past day or two.

This afternoon I was searching for a pen on the glider I occupy when I’m working from my porch. I whipped off one of the cushions and this beast was right there looking at me, as surprised as I was. It even raised its little arms in a defensive posture because it knew. It knew it had met its fate. The beast had been discovered by an avowed Spotted Lantern Fly assassin.

I may have been the one to shorten this moth’s life, but if you take a good look at its eyes, you know it would’ve done the same to me had it only had longer legs.

Katydid ready to jig – Photo: L. Weikel

Second Face

The second little one I’m sharing with you is a katydid we encountered on our walk yesterday. Spartacus actually came upon him, thinking he was dead and possibly as tasty as the praying mantises that all too frequently fail to make it across the road at this time of year. (Sheila’s favorite autumn snacks – which Spartacus is developing a taste for in his maturity.)

What I particularly like about this katydid, beyond it’s much less sinister eyes (compared to the Spotted Lantern Fly) are the way its feet are designed. Its feet look like they have little boots attached!

It almost reminds me of something Jiminy Cricket would wear.

Evening Reprieve

So there you have it. A light little photo essay on my recent face to face encounters with the creatures in my natural habitat.

We need to pace ourselves so we don’t hit the wall – not only before November 3rd, but even beyond. Because let’s face it: who really thinks the nightmare will be over on November 4th?

Katydid – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-435)