I know I’m the one who’s always preaching positivity, and trying to live my life as I preach. But I’m beginning to agree with those who are starting to say that to be positive all the time is not only unrealistic, but maybe, not so healthy either. Now, before you run and get your copy of “The Secret” or “Laws of Attraction”, hear me out.
If you’ve never been sad, how do you know what happy feels like? If you’ve never felt grief, how can you experience pure joy?
What I’m trying to say is, it’s ok to be sad now and then. I don’t recommend making a daily habit of it, but sometimes, well, you just have to allow the sad to come out and run its course.
As you may have read, I had a couple of really amazing, earth-shattering meditations last week, filled with indescribable joy. I also had a pretty lousy week the week before, and allowed myself to grieve for a lost family member and pet.
Today, while driving to my monthly massage (which usually makes me feel on top of the world), I was not so joyful. Arriving for my session, I discussed it with my therapist, and she’s the one who said “sometimes, you just have to be sad for a little while.” And the light bulb went on! She’s absolutely right! You can’t be “on” every single minute of every single day. Sometimes, you just have to shut down for a bit. Being sad is shutting down from being positive all the time. And it’s ok. It’s part of the cycle of life. We have good times and we have bad times and everything in between.
In the Tarot, this concept is exemplified by the Wheel of Fortune Card. The description typically says something like “If you like where you are, enjoy it while you can, because the wheel turns, and you’ll be somewhere else soon. If you don’t like where you are, relax. The wheel turns, and your circumstances will soon change.” The only non-turning part of the wheel is the hub, which is ourselves, but the world turns around us and we are often caught up in the momentum, needing to manage what life tosses us.
The lessons we learn are in the way we manage life’s curveballs. And allowing ourselves to be sad, or to accomplish nothing or to just sit quietly and pull back into ourselves is a necessary part of the process.
As I was flipping through my deck, searching for this card, I actually had to go through it twice because I didn’t find it the first time through. As I look more closely at the card, I see why. The characters on the card are the Maiden, Mother and Crone, or, the three phases of a woman’s life. I tend to associate them with the Moon for some reason, so when I saw the card, I thought “oh, that’s the Moon” and kept going. But it’s very fitting for the Wheel of Fortune card because of the concept of a wheel turning and moving forward and bringing necessary changes into our lives. Again, I’m reminded of the word I chose on the last day of my A.R.T. class: Evolution.
The more I learn, the more I experience, the more I dig deeply into myself, the further I go in my personal evolution.
We all have our own personal evolutions, but we also have those we share with small groups and large, and with humanity as a whole. That evolution is our Wheel of Fortune. And where she stops, nobody knows!
My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for my amazing daughter who will someday realize that she truly is as amazing as I believe she is…maybe even moreso!
2. I am grateful for people with kind hearts.
3. I am grateful for random acts of kindness.
4. I am grateful for the low times which make me better appreciate the high times.
5. I am grateful for synchronicity.
Love and light
