We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends
We all get by with a little help from our friends.
You may have noticed that I drew the 3 of cups two days in a row, a very friendly card. I’ve been in, and only occasionally out of, a sort of closed off introvert mode for the last year and a half. For those who know me, you know that is not my norm. I’ve always been an extrovert. In hindsight, I needed that time. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to being a full on extrovert ever again. But lately, I am being drawn back out and into the world of people and friendship, but not in the same way as before.
This draw reflects and teaches the wisdom of being able to enjoy, connect, support, and cooperate with others while also remaining balanced in yourself, with your own needs, and purpose. Keeping this balance is tough, as our needs (and the needs of our loved ones) are ever-changing and there isn’t really a set schedule or we can keep or consistent methodology we can apply. Fortunately though, there are some lessons we can keep in mind to help us navigate our complex social landscapes.
Motherpeace’s interpretation of the emperor shows him as a rigid, authoritative, defensive, afraid to open up to any other possibility for it may threaten the fixed ideology he has built his world within. I’m not going to lie, while I was doing my shadow work and deep healing, I felt very defensive and it is part of what kept me at arms length from most people. But it was also, the rigid thinking of others that made them hard to bear.
The Shaman of Disks is at ease alone and with people. She doesn’t falter either way. Because she is well aware and committed to her dharma (her life’s work and purpose), this knowledge offers her the stability, balance, and leverage to stand strong within her own boundaries, while still offering support, love, and companionship. She knows what is most important to her and the influence of others isn’t going to shake her core, unless of course it is a lesson she needs.
Her lesson is much the positive alternative interpretations of the emperor, who is able to stand in his own authority and set boundaries that he and others follow. Truly, the key to balance comes down to having a solid sense of self and an understanding of your own value. And that is something I think I had to go into the dark to find: something I am still finding. Yes, my lack of boundaries were being taken advantage of in the past. But more than that, when I came up against opposition from the people I loved, it would strike me right in the gut. If they didn’t agree with me how could I be right? How could my knowledge and beliefs be worthy if they did not share them or value them? And as I stepped into my magic and spirituality this issue blew up. As many of my co-healers know all too well, there are some people that will never understand.
I was looking to others to validate myself and my beliefs. And that is what resulted in the skewed balance that had me run into my own dark cave for a while. For you it may be that you give too much of yourself with little love in return. It may be that you fear opening up to others. Whatever it is, we have to understand that healthy friendships and social interactions require balance and it starts within.
Blessed be.