I’ve been told many times growing up that life is tough and not fair, and that everyone had it much worse than me. In other words–toughen up kid. (You gen X folks know what I’m talking about.)
The only thing that being “tough” brought me was a disconnect from my body, feelings, and reality. Do yourself a service and cry when you need to, listen to your feelings, and view your reality through self-compassion. Your experiences and pain are valid. You deserve to be seen by yourself and others.
Sometimes life is going along great and then there’s a downturn. Unexpected and difficult things happen. A bad day slaps you in the face when yesterday was great.
It can be darn right frustrating to be kicked down by life, but the best thing for bad days and times is to just feel the feels. Are you sad? Angry? Resentful? Take note of what you feel and embody whatever’s coming up.
Stress, pain, and sorrow are also physical. You might notice you’re tired, even though you’re sleeping just fine. Work and the day-to-day routine can become almost unbearable, even lifting your arm becomes exhausting. Small decisions can suddenly feel big. Like, what should I eat for dinner? Sigh. How about takeout tonight.
On those days, you just need to listen to your body and slow it on down. Sit in quiet. Listen to brooding music. Do not, I repeat DO NOT try to erase your pain or make it all better. You owe it to yourself to see that all of your feelings are important and to give yourself over to some TLC and downtime. To deny yourself that time and self-care is to tell yourself that you don’t matter, when in fact you do.
As a tarot reader, there are tarot cards that some call “difficult,” because they point out some not fun moments and vibes. I believe that tarot should be uplifting, but I also know that our reality is often downtrodden with struggle and pain.
Seeing difficult cards in a reading is an opportunity to check in with yourself or the questioner. Are you aware of your pain? Are you aware of what’s difficult? Sometimes progress asks for pause. Sometimes progress IS pause.
The next time you see a difficult tarot card, consider it a sign that pain can be a teacher, lover, and leader. Scary tarot cards are good medicine for the journey. Focus on what the medicine is, now–it’s not doom and gloom or endless sorrow. It’s being alive and where you stand, in the moment. That’s a powerful message of hope we all need to hear.
