Ten of Wands
There is an important lesson within this lovely version of the ten of wands, a scene of a young girl with her companion, both heavily ladened with baggage. The loyal cow, under the control of its master, and the girl battling to control her willpower. Those difficult and challenging times when we find ourselves at war with our mind. You can almost hear the conversation in her troubled head. Should I just throw the lot down, fall to the ground like a tired child, or turn back.
The message this intriguing scene brings us is more about the mind and self-discipline than anything else, the choices we have in difficult and challenging times. For the girl could follow the example of the cow, put her head down, accept the challenge and complete the job, or throw the towel in and find creative ways to justify her decision and endure her disappointment and guilt. While in truth there are numerous ways forward, too many to list here, but we will loosely describe the other options as “the middle path.” While the mind can convince us that we only have a couple of options, this is more a lack of creativity and imagination on our part. For often there is far more subtlety and shade than we may first think.
Today’s message is simple but empowering, if you’ve taken too much on, find yourself feeling tired, overwhelmed or exhausted, then don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re weak or a failure if you need to delegate, temporarily step back or change course etc. For you are only human, you’re not invincible, for we can’t win every battle, win every war, carry the weight of the world upon our shoulders.
You’re encouraged to slow down, lighten the load, reach out for help and support if needed. It’s time to acknowledge your needs, to take good care of your health and wellbeing. For “Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” So slow down, be kind with yourself and know that these challenging times won’t last forever!
