Goin' Papal

Whenever my card of the day is the Pope, I usually think of other people, wise people or teachers in my life or historical teachers that I might be currently reading about.  It might even be just some teachings without a specific person attached to them.

Today, that's not the case.  I look at the card and think of myself in my career as a teacher.  My eye is drawn to the fact that the Pope seems to be more in tune with one rather than the other.  Does he favor one over the other?  Is he more effective with one than the other? This has always been a problem for me.  Don't get me wrong:  I'm fair with respect to workload, grades, etc.  I want every student to succeed and have always been more of a "guide by the side rather than a sage on the stage"...long before that phrase became popular.  

The Pope reminds me to think about how I don't always know how to work with the students who are underprepared, overworked, and dealing with a host of non-class related issues.  What "sage advice" do I have to offer those students? It's so easy to teach those who are prepared.  But how can I be more of a true teacher for students whose lives are filled with all kinds of non-education related stress and struggles?  

 

Perhaps France

I got back to my art journal this weekend.  Why does it take a rainstorm for me to do that?

Books, books, books

Will I ever be able to stop buying and reading books?

It's not about the cup.

Cups have been a big theme lately in my daily card pulls, but the King of Cups is always a welcomed sight.  I think what appeals to me most is that he isn't looking at the cup; he's almost ignoring it. I also like the large, open hat. There's something so open (open-minded?) and free about it.  It speaks to me of possibility.   Is it possible to put our emotions aside and not be so burdened with them?  To not allow them from taking over everthing?  I think so.

So often we think that we aren't in contol of our emotions.  Indeed, a phrase like "an emotional rollercoaster" brings to mind something we can't control.  We're just along for the ride and have to endure the ups and downs.

The King of Cups tells me something different, namely, that my emotional response to the world isn't the meaning of the world.  I can deal with my emotions by asking myself why I feel x, or what might be another way I could look at x that would bring about a different, more mature and even authentic emotional response. Can I even take the emotion out of the situation and see it uncolored by my feelings?

Can we get better at this as we age?  I would like to think that my responses will continue to become more regal and not so self-absorbed. 

What's love got to do with it?

The Ace of Cups got me thinking about love and how cynical I can be about love.  OK, maybe not cynical, but at least skeptical.  Wary.  Society seems to give us mixed signals about love.  In some religious traditions love is a gift from God.  We have phrases like "to fall in love" and "to be blinded by love."  Then there's the image of Cupid's arrow.  But this whole love mindset seems to be so passive and arbitrary.  It's something we have absolutely no control over.  At the same time society asks us when we're going to find Mr/Ms Right and settle down-- as if we were in control of this.  

So I'm taking the love out of the cup and replacing it with compassion.  And as this is the ace of the suit, I am reminded of potentiality.  Compassion needs to DO not just BE.  Just having the compassion doesn't guarantee anything will come of ut. Even when it's difficult to identify compassion in ourselves, we can ACT and SPEAK compassionately.  Compassion is easy when we see a child in need or even homeless person asking for money.  But can we still DO compassion when it comes to our ex causing all kinds of drama?  Can we find some compassion for people from the opposite end of the political spectrum?   Is there even a shred of compassion available for members of ISIS?  

What can we do daily to fill the cup, our hearts,  with compassion so that it spills over and becomes active?  Can it start with compassionate words and then actions?  It's not all that easy, but it's much more promising, and certainly more fulfilling, than waiting around for Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome or the female equivalent.

 

Get a grip!

And then we have those weeks.  

I don't see Tarot as predictive or divinatory. I see how the cards can relate to personal life and lead to  reflection. Still, the Tower, or Maison Dieu, was the card I chose on the day of the car accident, and the Three of Coins was on the day of an important meeting I was chairing and hoping to keep all sides coming together, and, and, and... Let's leave it at that. There was coincidence. Synchonicity for some.  Whatever.  

What got me most though was that the handle of the sword on the Three of Swords kept sticking out to me.  As my eye wandered all over the card hoping for some meaning, it kept coming back to the handle. And then it was obivous. Get a grip!  It's not all that complicated.  Just control those things that you are supposed to and it'll all be fine.  And  I did just that.  What started as a complicated week on Saturday, filled with all kinds of BS, became so much more manageable when I just took hold of those things that I knew I could. 

Let's remember this.  Do you have a grip on the things that belong to you, the things that are within your control?  Does this realization temper (sword) all of the nonsense that seems to be flying around?  Sure, that Three of Swords can be rather practical, but heck, isn't it a reminder that ultimately we are the ones in control?

An Eye on What's to Come

And why not continue on with more swords, nine of them even, as if I haven't had enough of them this week. :)

I guess I'm going to overthink this material-spiritual issue till it kills me. :)  

Actually, all is not so hopeless as people think when this card comes up.  The sword is yellow, so I feel  I can be more analytical about this and set my passionate caution, my "en garde" mindset,  to the side.  The sword now appears to be broken, or at least fragile in the center.  And I'm going to have to rely on blind faith that it is still connected to the tip that comes out of the top.  

So, onward and upward (since the sword is pointing us there).  I'm feeling very optimistic with this card. So much going on in it; again, an eye.  A wink?   What do you see in this card?  What do you think about all of those colors going on in it.  It's very active.  There's a spin to it that makes me feel excited about what's to come, like the spin of a roulette wheel.   

Gimme a break (through)!

Ok, I won't say anything about how the Five of Swords is a perfectly fitting card to go with the theme of   my cards this week -- a inquiry into the balance  between the spiritual and the intellectual.  (But it really is!) 

The number five is said to have a somewhat chaotic nature, a number that sits between the earthly 1-4 and the spiritual 6-10.  The Pope, a figure considered by some to be the intermediary between heaven and earth, is V in the Major Arcana.  In any case, I have been very much in a "five state of mind" lately.  I can't go so far as to say this is negative, though, and in some modern decks this card gets a bum rap.  

I have been intellectually very alert this week, mostly with respect to my investigations of shamanism and other forms of traditional spiritualism, healing, and energies.  At the heart of all this is my need to stay "on guard" against just jumping into some of the older (and newer) forms of spiritualism without bringing my intellect into the discussion.  In this card, the red sword (again, my very passionate intellect) is crossing through the light blue spiritual self, not so much to get rid of it, but to try to find a way to reconcile the two and not see them as competing or as mutually exclusive.  I like that in this deck the red sword can be seen among the light blue weavings on this cards. 

And those flowers, which could indicate the four cardinal points?  Could they be reminding me to look everywhere for my answers and not just in the first convenient place?

How do you balance your spiritual and intellectual sides?  Do you ever feel that the sword of intellect is preventing you from having "buy in" into a spiritual system?   Or does the spiritual overwhelm your intellect, making you follow a teaching, a way, a school, or dogma without questioning it enough?

The Object of My Desire

Every time I pull this card I get a new vibe from the queen's expression.  Not only are the faces of this queen so different from each other between decks, even in a single deck the expression changes from one glance to the next.  She can come across as shrewd, evil, nostalgic, caring, concerned, coniving, wistful, gracious, humble, and on and on.  

Here she is attending to matters of the material world, specifically material possessions.  This could be things such as the bank account, the home, the garden, or even by extension the family or work.  But today the card is speaking to me more of objects:  my books, pens, notebooks, bookbags, etc., the things of my day-to-day life.  The objects I decorate my house with, the mirrors and goat figures, the colorful tablecloth, and the industrial end tables.  I also think of the objects I use, like the knives and pans in the kitchen.  In many cases, I will spend what some others might see as obscene amounts on these things.

It is fitting today to contrast the spiritual concerns of the cards over the last few days with the physcial concerns of this card.  

Do you like to have "nice things?"  How much is too much to spend on a fountain pen?  A blouse?  A book? Couldn't that money go to feeding the hungry, providing scholarships, or helping to fund research for a cure for cancer?  What do you think the Queen says about "nice things?"

My personal take is that we should try to be discerning when chosing the objects we buy.  Does this object add to our personal growth?  I know that with a nice fountain pen and notebook, I write more, think more about what I'm writing. Writing becomes meditative, prayer-like, healing.  For others, that same money might lead to similar fulfillment if it were spent on a good comptuer.  I have had the same knives and pans for the last 25 years.  The quality and performance is well beyond the "outrageous" price I paid for them back then.  They make cooking a joyful and even at time artful experience.  And though I'm far from being a clothes horse, I do tend to pay more for quality shirts and pants that will hold up to my daily walks to work and back.

So how about the objects of your own desire? Where's the true value in them?

A wonderful article by Alain de Botton addressing some of these ideas  can be found at

http://www.thebookoflife.org/good-materialism/

Two new journals

Two new journals. My new daily journal - the C.D. Notebook-has wonderful fountain pen friendly paper. The other one -B and N -will become my new Tarot guidebook. I’ll start adding Tarot thoughts and info from all of my other tarot notebooks.  Both hold up so well to all my nibs and inks.

Think on these things...

Today's card, la Papesse, seems a fitting accompanianment to yesterday's L'Etoille.  Both seem to speak to my current preoccupation with spiritual mindfulness and what I am doing (or not doing) to develop it.  

In all spiritual practices it seems there is the eternal dichotomy between "being in the moment" and "thinking about being in the moment."  The Star seems to be mixing two waters, the water of Life and the water of personal consciousness.  It's an invitation to join the Life flow (with a capital L).   The Lady Pope, though, has been reading about such blending of the universal and the personal and is contemplating it.  

Do I simply get lost in the waters of life by going with the flow?  Or, with a little contemplation, can I learn / intuit how this flow can make me more engaged in the world?  

La Papesse is looking up from the book.  There's something out there beyond the edge of the card.  What do you see there?

Just do it? Maybe not.

This morning's card, the Knight of Swords, got me thinking more about my interest in not only shamanism but all the many aspects of spirituality and intuitive-poetic living.  As I was out on a two-hour walk this morning, I realized that this Knight is so full of information for this area of my life.

The very spirited horse reminds me of this inner desire to develop my spiritual sense beyond my current curiosity. (In this and a few other older Italian and French decks, he is light blue, which is for some a color of spirituality.)   The Knight is looking to the left, which could be seen as the past, traditional religions or even the dogma of a guru, a particular school of yoga, a tai chi instructor with a following, etc.  And though the horse is looking that way too, his front feet lifted off the ground tell me he's not just going along with it.  The passitionately red sword of intellect got me thinking about how important it is not to just jump into some aspect of spirituality (and even formal religion) without really paying attention, without using some critical thought. The spaulder on the Knight's shoulder has a face pointing to the right, the future perhaps.  In any case, it tells me to be sure to have another perspective on my spiritual endeavors.  Don't just bite into something hook, line, and sinker.    

I continue to have an intense interest in shamanic practices,  but I have to caution myself to use a rational thought and clear thinking. Before too long, I would like to spend a few months traveling through Central and South America as a physical/spiritual journey.    I do want to meet and learn from shamans, but I know there are a lot of pseudo-shamans out there. And there is always the danger of romanticizing a new spiritual endeavor.  I see that with people who take on Asian practices.  They enjoy the ritual but don't try to apply the teachings in day-to-day life, as if the teachings were "too good" for the mundane parts of life. Or people take on a religion with such passion that they become fanatic about it and lose all compassion.  This Knight seems to be a warning about such.

How can we stay balanced in our pursuit of the spiritual-psychological-poetic journeys?   Do we really remember to keep our minds open and in check with our thought?  

Pizza anyone?

Could a Tarot cord really refer to something as mundane as pizza?  In my world it surely can!

After drawing the Eight of Coins this morning I was a bit stimied as to how the card would relate to the day, a Sunday on a holiday weekend.  My immediate thoughts for this card are usually in the realm of my work, my finances, and even my home and family.

The Eight of Coins calls to mind industry, not just big industry like manufacturing, but personal industy as well.  And then my mind centered on my upcoming day.  Today I'm having a cookout--pizzas of every sort.   I had gotten up at three this morning to make yet another pizza dough.  I already have five others in the fridge which I started  yesterday.  It's a lot of work, but it's something I love doing, and I have to say the pizzas that I make are pretty tasty.  Ok, they are better than just about any other pizza I've ever tasted.  There, I said it.  :)

So I'm seeing a kind of perfection from this card, not necessarily the perfection of a pizza, but the perfection that comes when one's interest and industry come together to make something.  The Eight of Coins would be the card of my father, who started his own business, and though he made a lot of money from it, it was his intense love of working with customers that made him go to work every day with such enthusiasm.  

Yes, the work is hard, but if the passion is there, it's a joy to do the work.  I wonder how many people find a calling that allows for this union.  If we aren't there yet, we should definitely keep searching, don't you think?

Now, did the HAND OF FATE make the Coin card come up today because coins look like pizzas?  You'll have to decide that for yourself.  

Exercising the Gray Matter

I've always found the Eight of Swords visually stunning.  Its symmetry and balance of shapes with colors makes it a card I can spend time staring at and meditating with.  One exercise is to stare directly at the middle flower while simultaneously trying to see the four flowers on the perimeter. After a minute or two, a wonderful interaction begins to take place between the two sections that result from the busy, almost shimmering intersection of the swords and the very stable segments made up of the two sets of four black lines.  At times the card even takes on a three-dimensional look, with the center flower at the point of a pyramid and the four flowers at the four corners of the base.  The red lines that break up the black become like steps leading to the top.

But what does this have to do with me, my intellect, thoughts, and words? I have relied much on the rational side of my brain this week.  I've taken on a project I've been pushing to the side. But now I'm much more in control.  There is now activity.   My committee mates are on board.  There is a certain buzzing of our industry.  I've set aside insecurities. I haven't obliterated them, but I haven't allowed them to shake my more pragmatic approach to the situation.  They aren't stopping me from acting, which in this case means thinking through things and communicating them in a clearly crafted emails and phone calls.

I'm often surprised at other decks that have such negative meanings attached to the Eight of Swords.  Sure, there could be blockage, a trapped creativity or inabilty to act, but there is also good thinking and vision, which can take one to completely different mindset.  There is no misery here.  Just a reminder that there really isn't any situation in life that can't use a good dose of clear thinking.  And when done right, such thinking can take us to places we've never imagined.

The Intellect Takes Charge!

The King of Swords sits so confidently on his throne, his red sword showing us a passionate intellect in action.  It's no wonder then that I can relate this morning's card as I pulled it in it's reversed position. 

At work I've been put in charge of a committee which has no real defined purpose.  Our group has met but hasn't come up with any concrete plan as to what it will be and do. I've felt powerless.  I need to decide how I can lead the group to produce something valuable for the school or I need to speak with my boss and explain why the original purpose of the group was ill-conceived.

The matter did keep me awake last night.  How can I take control of the situation and have that confidence to make a good choice here?  In the reversed position, the King was looking to the left, some might say the past.  Am  I only looking at the struggle the group has faced trying to identify a purpose?  Have I surrendered the idea that this group could possibly benefit our colleagues?  There are two faces on the shoulders of the King's armour.  What can I learn from the past tat will bring about  something in the future?  

This matter will require my intellect to overcome any insecurity.  I'll also have to rely on the other members of the committe and not have a "my way or the highway" position.  

Sure its possible to be too cerebral about things, but let's not forget that we have brains and we should use them.  In many cases the intellect steps in where personal or emotional insecurity are blocking our way to solutions.

Location, location, location

In a lot of the 20th century tarot decks, The Five of Coins is bad news.  It carries with it a sense of foreboding. It's another of the many ways that I part paths with these en-visioned decks.

Four coins surround a fifth, all separated by the leafy filigree.  The coins bring to mind the physical world, including things such as our spaces (home, work, the natural world), our finances (money, wages, gifts, financial windfalls), our valued relationships (the people we treasure), and our bodily existence (physical health). 

The card brings to mind the compass points.  North, South, East, West, and Here -- the place where I am now, the space occupied by the center card.  How  is my physical environment?  I made a half-hearted effort to clean my room this weekend (I spend a lot of time there). The kitchen is a disaster.  My office space at work is an absolute mess.  What effect does this have?  Though I'm far from a neat freak, I do feel the weight of the chaos around me.  Sure, I can accept the flux (fives are numbers of being on the move, changing things), but I also like to have stuff cleaned and in their place so they don't take up head space.  

So today I'll take a second look at the spaces I find myself in and act to bring a little order to the chaos.     I understand the idea of not investing too much energy in a perfectedly clean and organized home at the expense of other healthy endeavors, but our physical surroundings do influence our moods so it's important not to neglecdt them.  

Temper, temper...

The card Temperance has a very overt meaning for most:  nothing in excess.  And I go along with that. It's always good to draw this reminder not to eat, drink, stay up, neglect work, etc.  to the point that it damages us.  Like the Fours and the Emperor (IIII), Temperance (XIIII) has a message of stability.  In the case of this card, stability through measured actions and words.  And like the Seven Coins of the other day, I think it also reminds us to temper our spiritual and earthly selves, shown perhaps, with what appears to be an exaggerated lift of the higher pitcher, the whole body seeming to connect above and below.  

So what do we end up with?  A bunch of watered down wine?  Not necessarily.  This is a figure of an angel, an angel here on earth, where we are.  A guardian angel?  Perrhaps she's reminding us that no matter what happens in life we can exercise temperance to bring things back into balance.

Where in your life are things not tempered?  Do you easily fly off the handle at work?  Frustrated with kids who don't seem to do what you want them to?  Mad at yourself for staying out too late with friends on a week night?  What about a little humor to temper the anger?  A little alone time to temper the party time?

It's ok to have your head in the clouds, but make sure your shoes are tied.

I'm reading a lot into the Seven of Coins that really fits my current life sitiuation.  Most of the TdM portrayals of this card show a triangle (spiritual, conceptual) on top of a rectangle (material, earthly).  This card prompts me to think about the relationship between the two.  And though I'm not a stickler for reading reversals, my morning card pull was the reversed Seven of Coins, so I'll go ahead and admit that perhaps the spiritual and the material in my life are not necessarily in harmony right now.  

With the coins we think money, naturally, but there are other material things like our homes and families, our jobs and coworkers, our physical environments.  The Seven of Coins asks us to look at how we relate our spiritual perspective to the very practical world around us.  Are these in sync?

I need to work on this balance.  Currently my mind is running on overdrive spending much energy on its psycho-spiritual well-being and development.  This involves a lot of cloistering, being quiet.  And even when I'm with others, I'm not very participatory.  But what does that mean for others around me?  Do I just claim my spiritual mindset as more important than my relations to the physical world around me?  No, I can't do that.  I have to spend time with students, visit my aging parents, be responsive to my partner, (especially since our schedules will soon be on high-hectic and we won't get a lot of free time together).  And what about taking care of this house I live in?  As much as I want to lie in bed with the insence on full blast, I also have to vacuum, clean the tub, pay bills.  

The Seven of Coins invites us to evaluate this relationship between our spiritural and physical existences.  When they are in balance, we can let their true value shine through.  

Take a deep breath...

I know the Five of Wands is often related to conflict, and I guess to some extent that works for me, but stepping back a bit I think that many of the conflicts in our lives are the result of not facing the facts, not being honest about whatever it is we're dealing with.  I guess a question that could help address any issue of conflict would be "Am I being honest in my perspective on the situation?  Or am I relying on my habitual thinking patterns and routine responses as I deal with this situation?"  That single wand getting all involved with the other four is going to be pretty pursuasive to show that it is the true way or has the right answer.  But is that the right path?

I like this particular portrayal of the Five of Wands.  Notice that single wand in the middle isn't completely connected. (In other decks, it is covered by the opposing wands, so you can't see it completely either.) It APPEARS as a single path through the conflict of the opposing four, but that's just because our eyes are filling in the gap.  Perhaps what we thought was the direct path, the correct response to the conflict, really isn't.  

Today will be the fourth day of the new semester.  Each day this week is filled to the brim.  There are lots of new students, a lot of new preparations, and tons of emails flying about.  All of this comes after a rather relaxing few weeks during which I had a lot of down time, time I could devote to being quiet and doing quiet things alone.  My energies are quite exhausted by the end of the day.

 It's Thursday.  It would be so easy today to do what I usually do on Thursdays--go to the local beer joint and take part in their featured beer tastings.  I know I could sit back, relax and have a few cold ones.  I won't have to teach tomorrow morning, so I could hang out a little longer than usual.  But that would just be my regular Thursday routine.  It is in conflct with my goal of getting a little fitter, exercising more, losing weight, etc.  So, yeah, it'd be really great to have the regular Thursday fun after work, the temptation is there, but I'm not going. I honestly need to leave that for others.  

How will you deal with the conflicts that arise today?  You might have an immediate, passionate response (wands), often just rote responses and reactions, or you might take a moment to reassess your response to the situation.  Are you being honest with yourself?  

Happiness is...

Though many Tarot readers agree that the Nine of Cups speaks of the emotional aspect of life, they seem to go in many directions as to how to interpret this particular card. Certainly this speaks to me of highly emotional states.  And for me today (indeed these last few days) this rings very true.  However, I'm not ready to toss this card's meaning off with something so simple as "an abundance of joy" or "happiness in all of my relationships."  That might be a little simplistic. 

The Nines tell me to think about a culmination, arriving at an important stage or new perspective, an "ah ha!" moment.  And the leafy filigree running between the cups gives me this extra dimension.  I can't help but notice the wilting leaves of the bottom two rows:  dying off, mourning, nostalgia for what was.  But is this a bad thing?  I don't think so.  It's only by knowing what we have lost that we can see the beauty and joy in what is around us now.  We know that life is never just a joyful experience for anyone, so the happiness we do find is all the sweeter.  It's a more developed, complex, and mature way of looking at happiness.  

This new perspective makes us truly appreciate "the good life."  Indeed, we make our own "good life" through our perspective on things.  I think about how yesterday so many really good things happened, small things, but when added up made for a really beautiful day.  A student sent me a wonderful email as an introduction to herself and shared her appreciation for the help I had given.  As I was walking home, a stranger commented on what beautiful weather we were having and how lucky we were be out it in.  

Now it's time for me to think about how I add to the happiness of others.  There are nine cups.  I could be the one in the middle surrounded on all sides by family, friends, coworkers, students.  And strangers.  

In what areas of our lives can we find joy "right under our noses"?  What can we do that might create joy for others? We won't be oversimplistic.  We recognize that life can be rough.  But we also realize that we can be much more in charge of our happiness than we think.  What will we do today to make this new perpective a reality?  

Who's the boss?

Today's card, the King of Batons, has a huge field of meanings, many of which can be seen in the broader lights of leadership (kings) and action (wands), in other words, being in charge of one's will and the power it can wield.  No matter who we are, we exercise power over others:  politicians over citizens, parents over children, bosses over employees, teachers over students, and even in other spheres where "power" isn't so traditional:  a pet owner controls what happens to her companion animal, a gardener determines the fate of plants and animals in his garden.  

For me, today is the first day of class.  The King of Wands is a good reminder for me to think about what kind of relationship I will develop with my students.  How will I "reign" to enable students to achieve?  How will I avoid being a dictator?  How will I avoid the trap of doing things as I've always done them without applying some creativity, innovation, humanity, and humor into the class?  I'm taking this card with a bit of a warning as well:  be careful of abusing the power simply because I feel that my right to use it overrides the rights and dignity of others.

Wands are often associated with fire and the energy that comes from it.  I need to think about this today as this first day of class is the one that will set the tone for the rest of the semester.  It's a long class, four hours long.  Will I be able to keep the energy level up?

In what areas of life are you the boss?  Are you just?  Do you want things done come hell or high water just because that is your will, or do you have mastery over this firey will, channeling it so that it will lead to better outcomes for you and those you are in charge of?

The Power of the Intellect

The Power of the Intellect
Today’s card: The Ace of Swords.

 In the last year, I’ve only pulled this card two other times. For me, it’s a good example of how a card comes just in time and is relevant in so many spheres of life. 

Are you letting your intellect have its say in your life? If there’s a problem, how might the intellect help you deal with it? The intellect is great at helping us out of emotional ruts, those times when we put our brains on autopilot by letting our emotions just have their way over and over and over. 

Instead of reacting to the world out of pure feeling, perhaps it’s possible to stand back and take a critical look at the situation. Question. Look at both sides (as the sword’s blade has two sides). Do you really need him/her in your life? Should you really spend so much money on that awesome car? Is it time to go to the boss and enter a formal complaint against that crazy coworker? Such situations are heavy with emotion. The Ace of Swords reminds us our thoughts on such things need to be tempered with some good old objective critical thinking. 

For me, this card is a wake up call on various levels. Summer is over for those of us in academia. It’s time to get back to regularly scheduled work. How will I challenge myself this semester? And how will I challenge my students? This is not the time to fall into the emotion-laden bitch sessions that some colleagues are involved in as we learn of new responsibilities, regulations, and requirements. There are new lesson plans waiting to be developed, and the new textbooks will require new classroom activities and online exercises. There is the potential (ace) for things to be better than before. And there is the joy of mental activity involved in developing them.

Closer to home, the card reminds me to get organized. I MUST get back into my daily planner and write down my plans for each day. The sword is the logos, the WORD, which when written down becomes the thought outside of oneself, made visible on quality paper and a beautiful ink! Whether its a shopping list of healthier food or a reminder to pay bills and do the laundry, the written list can be a great weapon against the burden of overwhelm.

So today will be a day of planning, writing, organizing and “arming” myself with a plan for the upcoming week. 
How will you be using your intellectual sword today?

Sent from my iPhone