Better Times Ahead

#DailyTrip from the Calm app - Sarah Barmak quoteToday’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and was a #DailyTrip session on the Calm app.  It was about allowing yourself to notice the little things, and letting go of the resentment of seeking positivity in life.

I actually relate to this a lot. When I first started my COTD mental health activity, I was -very- pessimistic about it.  Being a pessimist at heart, my negative head space made it clear that gratitude practices were a waste of time and it was ridiculous to think just taking a moment each day to find a “positive message” in some cards was going to do anything.

Except, even with my ridiculousness and reluctance?  It did.  It has.  It does make a difference.  Just those few moments a day reflecting on the positive and seeking a positive or optimistic message… makes a difference in my mental health.  Am I a completely different person with no more mental illness issues and no longer a pessimist?  Nope.   I’m still struggling with those things.  Yet, at the same time?  The struggle is a little less difficult than before.  Just a little… but enough that I’ve noticed, and so have those around me.

Yaoi Tarot's Eight of Cups and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Eight of Cups combined with the affirmation “Hey. This problem won’t eat up your entire life, I promise. There are better times ahead.”

Don’t walk away just because you’re frustrated and it feels like it’s taking forever for things to resolve themselves. Stick it out instead. Yes, there’s always going to come a time when it’s time to give up and walk away because the expenditure of energy and emotion becomes too much, but this isn’t it. Hold on a little longer.

DECKS USED:  YAOI TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

de_tarotjuf’s #DeDonkereGodinTarotChallenge Prompt
Questions for February 6th and 17th

Yaoi Tarot's Eight of Swords and Page of pentacles, and Roses are as Romantic As You Are CardsThis allows me to embrace past events.

Page of Pentacles and All For Romance – Lean into the ones that have stuck by you through thick and thin and let them show you what it truly means to love someone. The experiences of your past make this a difficult lesson to learn. Remember that it’ll take time, and those that are long-standing in your life are there to help you.

This is the way I can use to experience intense emotions.

Eight of Swords and Letter On the Moon – Take care not to ignore your emotions and distance yourself from them… even the intense ones that are uncomfortable. They’re not going to do you any good when they’re buried or shoved away, and you learn nothing by leaving them alone and ignoring them.

DECK USED: YAOI TAROT AND ROSES ARE ROMANTIC AS YOU ARE CARDS

Daily Self Kindness

I took some time this morning to take an ibuprofen and lie down to wait for it to work, instead of pushing myself to plow through the pain of the headache that was trying to crack open my skull from the inside.

Gideon’s Challenge

CloudsDependably You

You come to me
in dreams
with warm hands
calloused and rough
and a soft mouth
hot and wet
and I wake
gasping
energy reaching
as I seek you out
and find you
waiting
and ready
always ready

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Little Glimmers

#DailyCalm with the Calm app - Karen Salmansohn quoteToday’s meditation was ten minutes long, and one of the #DailyCalm sessions from the Calm app. The topic of today’s session was about the little things we do each day that often mean the world to someone else.  Things like letting someone in line behind you with one item skip in front of you when you have a full cart full, or even just smiling at a stranger (not in a creepy way, of course).

The session discussed how these small things can sometimes mean the world to another, when for us there are just a little moment of warmth or kindness that we often don’t even think about.  The session encouraged us to be more conscious of the se things, and to do them more often as a result of being more mindful of them in the day to day of our lives.

Renaissance Tarot's Seven of Coins and the Cozy Comfort Cards for Sad and Anxious MomentsToday’s draw is the Seven of Coins combined with the affirmation “A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. It makes you feel nice and cozy inside.”

Personal growth is hard, and it’s meant to be. But it’s when we find those things that make us feel good inside that we are best able to counteract the reactions of those things that don’t.

For example, if you have a favorite song that lifts you up and makes you happy, and you’re scared of the dark.  Sometimes, humming or singing that song when you’re confronted with being in the dark can help you through that moment. It balances things out a bit and gives you a light in the darkness.

It doesn’t always work, and sometimes it takes time to find the -right- counter balance for certain fears, triggers, and wounds. But, a part of personal growth is in keeping going… keeping working at it even when it seems like you’ll never get there.  Find those little “glimmers” in life and let them help you through the hard parts.  You’ll get there.

DECKS USED:  RENAISSANCE TAROT AND COZY COMFORT CARDS FOR SAD AND ANXIOUS MOMENTS

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2024 Challenge Prompt
Prompt for February 18th
: Do Spread 3
Today’s spread is a bit different than our normal in that we are not drawing random cards, but rather, we are picking out the cards that we think fit best. For each position, pick the card from your deck that you feel fits the question best for you, and then explain why you feel that way.

Renaissance Tarot - Two of Coins, The Tower, The Devil, Temperance, The Hanged ManWhich one card do you feel sums you up best?

Two of Pentacles – I feel like I am constantly struggling with finding balance. Balance between work life and home life, between responsibilities and self-care, between others and myself, etc.  I know that “balance” is a constantly fluctuating thing, and yet I always feel as if I am far too off-kilter and trying to get back to an even keel. I feel like a give a good show of knowing what I’m doing and having everything in hand.  I’d love for that illusion to be reality, and yet I struggle every day to even come minutely close to it.

What one card do you feel represents your strengths?

The Tower – Above all else, I am a survivor.  No matter what happens, no matter what changes take place or what life drops in my lap, I know that I will get through it.  It might -feel- like the end of the world, but I’m flexible enough to adapt and will pick myself up from the ashes and keep going.

Which one card do you feel represents your limitations?

The Devil – I have a tendency toward addiction.  An extreme tendency toward addiction.  If it feels good? I’m hooked. If it feels good and is -remotely- bad for me?  Watch out, here I come.  It’s something to be constantly conscious of, or I fall into one addiction or another and don’t surface until it’s too late and things have begun to self-destruct.

What kind of issues do you feel that you need to work on?

Temperance – If you read the answer above this one, you will know that what I need to work on is moderation.  Honestly, the Devil card and the Temperance card are interchangeable in these positions, as they go hand in hand.  I need more moderation in my life, and I struggle each and every day against those addictive tendencies in order to instill more temperance in my life.

What message do you want to share with the world?

The Hanged Man – Please remember that your experience is not the same as everyone else’s. It’s our history and our experiences that make us unique, but it can also blind us to the struggles of others and make it difficult to see things from another’s perspective outside our own.

Try.

Instead of just reacting to those around you and shouting your own experience and opinions into the void… try and see things from the viewpoints of others. Try to see the world from more than your own personal perspective.

Doing so helps us in being open to others, compassionate human beings, and better people.

DECK USED: RENAISSANCE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

Play time with Gideon! Hell yeah. That counts.

It’s Okay to Rest

Today’s meditation was skipped.

Claude Monet Impressionist Tarot's Four of Swords and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Four of Swords combined with the affirmation “You need to give yourself time to heal, no matter how long that ends up being.”

It is okay to rest.

It is okay to rest.

It is okay to rest.

It is not something to be ashamed of when you need to rest.

It is okay to rest.

DECKS USED:  THE CLAUDE MONET IMPRESSIONIST TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

Daily Self Kindness

I put off doing readings today until tomorrow.  My stomach has been upset and I spent a good deal of the day earlier today lying down.

The Journey of Self Kindness

Today’s meditation was skipped.

The Muse Tarot's Seven of Pentacles and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Seven of Pentacles combined with the affirmation “You can’t always find healing in other peoples love. Sometimes you need to be the one showing kindness toward yourself.”

For someone unaccustomed to self-love, the journey to finding how to give yourself this kindness (and accept it from oneself) is a long one. It’s a hard path to learn, and harder still something to make a habit of.  So many obstacles stand in the way from how we were raised and past experiences, to self judgements and mental health challenges.

In these cards today is encouragement.  They say, “Don’t give up on the journey. Keep trying. It’s okay if it takes a lifetime.”

DECKS USED:  THE MUSE TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

#mysticstartarot Challenge Prompt
Questions for February 15th thru 17th

Astral Realms Crystal OracleWhat are my low vibrational thoughts about myself?

Culmination / Hematite – You need to finish everything you start, otherwise it nags at you and niggles in your mind, chipping away at your sense of comfort and completion until you finish.

How have these thoughts sabotaged my relationship with myself?

Cognizance / Emerald – It gets into your head and screws with your perception of yourself, your capabilities, and your potential.

How can I release the negative thoughts about self?

Resolve / Desert Jasmine – Keep working on that more positive outlook you’ve been trying to incorporate into your life to counterbalance your natural pessimism and negative inner narrative. Lean into the positivity and optimism. You know it makes a difference when you try.

DECK USED: ASTRAL REALMS CRYSTAL ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsFeb2024 Challenge Prompt
Question for February 16th
: Do a Grouch a Favor Day – How can you give the grouch in your life a break today?

The Muse Tarot - Justice, Temperance, Page of Cups, Three of CupsThree of Cups – Togetherness is better, so don’t leave them alone.

Page of Cups Rx – Don’t expect them to have all the answers today, especially about why they’re feeling how they’re feeling.

Temperance atop Justice – Have a little patience instead of snapping back immediately in response to their attitude.

Take Away: You have a tendency to reflect back people’s attitudes and behaviors back at them. Today isn’t the day to let that tendency have free reign.  Be kind and take the high road instead of getting pulled into petty squabbling.  Show them that you can be there without needing to fix anything or dig into what’s wrong.  Sometimes just being there is enough.

DECK USED: THE MUSE TAROT

Daily Self Kindness

I had ice cream (yes, that counts!)

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_0141Sweet Mornings

I want to
reach for you
among
tangled sheets
and find warm flesh
to press upon mine
as we roll and shift
to get closer
with low chuckles
and quiet gasps
until we fit together
like puzzle pieces
that are
never meant
to be apart

Photo © ZenStatePhotography