Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @hippiepixie333 #Escapril2026 Challenge
Prompt for April 18th : distant trains
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Ten of Swords, which is traditionally a representation long journeys coming to an end, painful endings, lessons learned the hard way, deep wounds, and sometimes can indicate loss or betrayal.

I live in a condo on a hill with train tracks that run along the bottom of the hill through the “valley”. Trains run along these tracks all day and all night, their sound rolling upward over the hill where I live, carrying and amplifying the sound as it goes.

Because of this, although I live a few blocks from those train tracks, it sounds as if I live right next to them. Well, on the other side of the building at least, because the side of the building that faces the train tracks actually feels like you might be living 2 feet from the tracks.

When I moved in here, it took a really long time for me to get used to the noise of the trains, especially at night. Back then I was only getting about 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night, and this ungodly racket of trains moving through the night was not helping me get even that much sleep.

At one point, I even considered whether it was worth staying here, or if I should move.

I did stay, though, and over time I became used to the sound of the trains. I barely even hear them anymore.

The message in today’s Ten of Swords combined with the “distant trains” is a reminder that we can’t always choose the things we can live with, and those that we can’t. Sometimes the most excruciating things (like chronic pain) are things we have to live with rather than choosing, while other things (like the sound of trains that keep you up all night) you can choose whether or not to accept in your life.

In the end, we can “live with” a lot of things we don’t want to live with. We are all stronger than we realize, after all. The reminder here is that when we have a choice, make good choices. Pick yourself up from the “knockdown” blow given to you, and make the best choices you can in that moment. It may not be the perfect choice of your dreams, but if you make the best choice you can, you will get the best results from the experience you’re in the process of picking yourself up from.

DECK USED:  THE LLEWELLYN TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsApr2026 Challenge
Philosophical Questions for April 22nd and 29th

What does it mean to live a good life?

Ten of Swords, American Plum, Queen of Swords

These cards indicate that living a good life involves protecting those you love (American Plum) from the hardships that life has to offer (Ten of Swords Rx), and guiding them through the ones that you can’t protect them from (Queen of Swords).

The truth is that we all have to live through hardships, and life is going to hand out to us a wide variety of them to go through in our lives. In these cards, we see that living a good life involves connection with and support from others as each of us traverses through these hardships and learns how to deal with them, survive them, and move on from them.

Is personal growth required to live a good life?

Knight of Pentacles, Southern Crab Apple, Ace of Swords

You can’t move forward, not even slowly (Knight of Pentacles Rx), without some kind of growth (Ace of Swords). Stagnancy creates a stunted experience (Southern Crab Apple).

Yes, personal growth is a requirement for living a good life. Or at least, the good life that is described above in the answer to the previous question. Without personal growth, there is nothing to share, and nothing to give. That means there’s no reciprocity, and nothing to be shared with you.

Through growth we provide for others… and through growth they provide for us.

Other elements included in this reading:
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration, Clarity, and Determination
Green Jasper and Tiger Eye Turtle for Confidence within Progress
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECKS USED: BADGERS FOREST TAROT AND SIBLEY TREE IDENTIFICATION FLASHCARDS

@lightningwildflower‘s April Energetic Shifts Challenge
Mercury sextile Pluto Prompt for April 18th : How can I use my voice to empower myself?

Reading Summary: Remember that you can’t have everything all at once (The World blocked by Knight of Pentacles), and you wouldn’t want to (Justice). Take the things you want and need a little at a time instead (Seven of Swords).

Take Away: There are unhealthy results involved in leaning into a mindset of immediate gratification. Empower yourself by knowing your limits and working within them instead.

You will garner more success that way than you will by pushing yourself for more than you can healthily handle at once. Might want to keep in mind that there’s a massive difference between “more than you can handle” and “more than you can healthily handle” as well.

In other words? Saying “no” is empowering, not diminishing. Say it more often.

Other elements included in this reading:
Foraged Oak Branch with Moss and Lichen for Perseverance
Turtle Figurine for encouraging Slow and Steady Progress
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED:  THE LLEWELLYN TAROT

I avoided speaking politics even when it was brought up a few times today. It’s not that I don’t want to share my personal perspectives on those issues, but it’s like talking to a brick wall and only creates a chasm of distance when I’ve tried in the past.