optimism

No Strength Without Rest

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Today’s meditation was skipped (yet again).

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Solace Oracle and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s draw is the Standing Strong card combined with the affirmation “You have coped through a lot; you deserve a nice long break.”

Today’s cards are a reminder that you don’t have to be strong all the time, and that times of rest are what help you to stay strong over the long haul.  Without rest, there is no strength.  So don’t be down on yourself about needing rest. It’s okay.

I personally needed to hear this message today. It’s supposed to be an orders day, but I spent a large portion of the day trying to fill orders only to have to re-do damned near every little thing over at least once because of stupid mistakes and dissatisfaction with the results of my efforts.

I finally gave up and set orders aside, giving myself permission to ship out everything on Tuesday instead of tomorrow. The guilt was significant, especially when others in my life sort of seemed disapproving of my choices. (Or, alternately? It’s possible that could have just been me projecting my own feelings and guilt.)  Either way, today’s message helped in easing some of those negative emotions.  I’m allowed to rest when I need to, even when it’s not particularly convenient.

DECK USED: SOLACE ORACLE

#DiscordTarotholicsAug2023 Challenge Prompt
Question for August 1st and 2nd

Oracle Reading with the Moon Woman OracleHow does my inner child feel right now?

Maiden – Your inner child is excited about the potential your steps in personal growth are opening up to you. No longer is your inner child shoved in a closet, neglected and ignored as they had been in the past, and they are beginning to enjoy the attention and exploration.

How can I better connect with my inner child?

The Cauldron – Remember that creativity isn’t just fun and games, but there is also a sacredness to it that makes each thing you create (whether it be physical, metaphysical, or just the space for future potential) contain an intrinsic part of you within it.

DECK USED: MOON WOMAN ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I had myself some lazy time in bed today while I was alone at home.  As mentioned in the Card of the Day exercise above, I also allowed myself to not fill orders today, and rest instead… and am working on not feeling guilty about it.

Perfectionism Clogs the Gears

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Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Cryptid Creatures Tarot and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate AllanToday’s card is the Wheel of Fortune (Tailypo) combined with the affirmation “You can do the thing!”

Let go of the need for perfection . You have have better things to do with your time.

When you focus too hard on perfection, it slows you down and keeps you from completing tasks that could easily be done much quicker with a little more tolerance for everything not being “just right”.  Why waste your time with these tiny details when no one will care one way or another, or even notice for that matter… including -you- if it wasn’t you doing the work!

Just do it and get it done with out the obsessing, and then instead of wasting time on something you’re not really enjoying, you can move on to something that you will.

DECK USED: CRYPTID CREATURES TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

#DiscordTarotholicsJul2024 Challenge Prompt
Prompt for July 31: Grab a spread of your choice that you’ve been curious about… and give it a go!

Summer Oracle Reading with the Wing Hoof and Paw Oracle

Flowers – What is flourishing in your life right now?

Muskrat – Thanks to the end of month reading that you did earlier in the week, you are paying far more attention to the world around you. You are alert and aware, and working at preserving clarity of sight and mind. Vigilance and awareness of what’s going on around you is extremely important at the moment, and you’re doing well with it.

Sun – Where you’re shining your brightest this summer.

Prairie Dog – You are doing better at showing your emotions and sharing them with those that you love than you have done in quite some time. Last year, due to circumstances beyond your control, you had to shut yourself down and everyone suffered. You are beginning to open back up now.

Stars – What needs released to shine even brighter?

Deer – It’s hard to believe that you’re not going to have a repeat experience of what happened last year. You need to set down your distrust in the universe and it’s whims, and allow things to flow smoothly once more. Stop bracing for the next blow to come raining down on you.

Bees – Where to focus your energy to get things done?

Springbok – Revisit those things that you really enjoy, and allow them to help spark your creativity and enthusiasm. You have the extra time at the moment to spend some time having fun. Make sure you take advantage of that time instead of wasting it.

Bonfires – Embers to stir up for a brighter future.

Swan – Make sure that you were giving yourself credit where credit is due. You are enough, even when those negative whispers in your head make it seem like you’re not. This is something you need to work on reminding yourself of on the regular.

DECK USED: WING HOOF AND PAW ORACLE

Daily Self Kindness

I mixed the rest of the Froot Loops in with the Trix cereal. It’s a really good combo that I enjoy.

Finding the Positive for July 28 – 30

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The Soulscape Tarot, Messages from the Woods Oracle, Starline Tarot, Forest Friends Cards, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

July 28 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Wheel of Fortune combined with the affirmation “You are out here trying, and that is absolutely good enough.”

Confession.  I am a control freak.  Yes.  I am.  And the absolute frustration that comes with -not- being able to control some aspects of my life that I want to is one of the hardest things in life for me to accept.  Emotions. Triggers. Flashbacks. Unexpected roadblocks and obstacles. Unpleasant surprises.

These things drive me absolutely crazy because I cannot control them even in instances when they may not involve -anyone- other than myself. I don’t want to control others, I just want to control myself and my life to a degree that is (in rational moments, I admit) not just unreasonable to expect but actually impossible to accomplish.

Today’s affirmation and card combo is a reminder that you can’t control the world around you, only yourself and your reactions to it. You can’t control your emotions, only how you react to them and what you -do- with them. Do you let it set you off kilter? Or do you go along for the ride with grace? It’s a choice.

I’m personally not very good at gracefully going along with the flow in these instances. But… I’m trying, and that has to be enough.

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

July 29 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was

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Today’s cards are the Deer card combined with the Bear Hugs hugs card.

The message in today’s cards is that life cannot be work work work all the time. Everyone needs rest to function… even you. Don’t feel guilty for taking time to yourself when you need it. When you do so, you show that you are giving yourself the same kind of love and understanding, balance and stability that you provide so easily for others.

DECK USED: MESSAGES FROM THE WOODS CARDS AND IT’S FOREST FRIENDS CARDS BY TIJANA LUKOVIC

July 30 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Ace of Wands combined with the affirmation “You’re still a good  you, even while you’re not feeling like yourself.”

Honestly? I’ve been dead tired today. I only managed to get about two hours sleep last night, and it clearly wasn’t enough.  Between that and the drive north, it’s been a rough one for me.

Today’s cards are a reminder that even on rough days, your passions and inspirations remain the same. You like the same foods, you’re interested in the same things, and you have the same passions. The cards encourage tapping into those enthusiasms during these times when you aren’t at your best, and allowing them to help ground you in yourself so that you don’t feel as much adrift from yourself and who you are as such days can cause you to feel.

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

Finding the Positive for July 10 – 12

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Mimit Tarot, Oracle of 11, Journey to Oz & Wonderland Tarot, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

July 10 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is The Hanged Man combined with the affirmation “Small steps still count.”

Holy cuteness overload. 😂 These cards are a reminder that even though you’ve chosen to come up north and spend the night at Ms B’s so you can take her to her appointment today doesn’t mean you’re not still in the process of healing up from being sick.  Pneumonia takes time to recover from, and even though you have more energy and are getting better doesn’t mean you’re full on able to pick things up as if you’re completely healed.

Pause.  Take time.  Go slow.  Take breaks when you need them, naps when there’s opportunity, and give yourself a break whenever you get the chance.  Don’t push.

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

July 11 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is The Golden Island of Brunei combined with the affirmation “You’re not failing at being happy– you’re recovering from overwhelming stress. Please be patient and allow your mind some recovery time; this won’t last forever.”

From the Guide: “The Golden Island roamed the seas, seeking worthy communities to bless. Yet when those it granted boons forgot their kindness and became consumed with greed, it vanished, leaving them to decline.”

This story reminds me of the Fae, and the importance of consistency where building a relationship with them is concerned.  If you put out cream on your windowsill for the Fae, and do so consistently, they may come to bless you with their company and boons. But, if you forget or become inconsistent with your offerings, those boons may be taken away and the Fae you have been courting may become resentful.

Today’s cards are about gratitude, and most especially, consistency in one’s gratitude. Staying power is important when it comes to drawing in one’s blessings, as well as weathering the hard parts of life that come your way.  If you stop being grateful, the world looks darker, even though it’s not.  If you recognize your blessings for what they are and stay consistent in gratitude and positivity practices, the world looks brighter and lighter, even though it’s not.  It’s our perspective that changes when we put in consistent effort to be kind and grateful.  Which perspective would you rather live in?

DECK USED: ORACLE OF 11 AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

July 12 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyTrip sessions on the Calm app.  The session spoke about how there are two different “main” methods of meditation.  The “focused on a goal” meditation style, and the “doing nothing” meditation style.  This particular session focused on the “doing nothing” style and was about simply relaxing into the experience of the moment.

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Today’s card is the Chariot card combined with the affirmation “Yes, the storm is back again, and it sucks. But, you aren’t alone out there, my friend.”

You know that phrase “team work makes the dream work”?  That’s what today’s cards bring to mind. Flying monkeys are an effective army not because they’re flying monkeys (although, that surely has something to do with it), but because they are an –army– of flying monkeys.

By the same turn?  You are not a survivor all alone and on your own.  You’re a member of a community, whether that community is a family,  part of a group of friends, or some other gathering of members that help and support each other.  And, it is through this connection with others that you are better able to weather the storms that life throws at you.

Could you do it alone?  Sure. Probably.  You don’t have to, though, and life’s that much easier when you accept help from others during the rough times than if you tried to handle it all on your own.

DECK USED: JOURNEY TO OZ & WONDERLAND TAROT AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

Finding the Positive for July 7 – 9

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Moravia Tarot, Tarot Épineux, Live a Colorful Life Zentangle Oracle, Forest Friends Cards, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

July 7 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s cards are the Wheel of Fortune card with the Sage Frog affirmation card, which says “Your life needs balance. Sometimes you’ve caught enough flies and it’s time to kick back.”

There are times when I think of the wheel of fortune, that I envision the merry-go-round spinners they used to have on playgrounds.  When the ride is spinning, if you stand at the edge of the ride, then as it spins you feel the centrifugal force so strongly that it is hard to hold on, let alone do anything other than hold on while physics try to throw you off.  But, by the same turn, as you move closer to the center of the ride, the pull to the outer edges is decreased and you can stand up straight and not hold on so tightly, etc. There is less pulling against you… and less chaos as a result.

The cards for today are a reminder to step toward the center.  Being stubborn and staying at the edge where the chaos and outside forces have sway is sometimes just you being stubborn instead of allowing yourself to make things easier on you. Don’t push yourself so hard you end up in a set back, instead allow yourself a bit of rest to balance out just how hard you are on yourself and how hard you work.

DECK USED: MORAVIA TAROT AND FOREST FRIENDS CARDS

July 8 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Five of Coins combined with the affirmation “It’s okay to change. Your life is for you!”

Adaptation is a necessary part of survival, and above all else?  You are a survivor.  This means that sometimes, in order to survive and thrive, you have to change and grow.  And sometimes?  Others aren’t going to like that.  They might make you feel ostracized or rejected because of it.

As the basis for the meditation on July 6th said, “Anything you lose by speaking your truth isn’t a loss: it’s an alignment.”  Your life is for you, not anyone else.  Sometimes, that means you have to shed the old in order to align yourself with what’s right for you, whether that’s jobs or people, hobbies or ideals.

The cards for today are a reminder that you are living your life for you, and sometimes that means making adjustments and adaptations in order to stay on that path that’s so very uniquely yours. Don’t let those things left behind make you feel like a failure or something to feel bad or guilty over.  The butterfly does not feel like a failure in leaving the cocoon behind… and neither should you.

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

July 9 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and one of the #DailyTrip sessions in the Calm app. The session for today was called “The Indicator Light” and spoke about how when a car needs a little love and attention, the indicator light comes on.   And how our bodies do much the same when we feel sore or sick or run down in some way.  It’s an indicator that our bodies (or minds) need a little extra love and attention.   The session encouraged seeing it in this way and not just “plowing on” and ignoring those pleas.  That instead, by tending to them when they arise, we give ourselves the encouragement to be healthier and happier inside and out.

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Today’s card is the Orange card combined with the affirmation “It’s okay to be whatever weirdo you are today.”

The color orange, as described by the guide that accompanies this deck, is a color of high energy and creativity filled with passion and new ideas.  And, I can’t help but notice that the colors of orange in the card correspond to the shades of orange in the axolotl’s head and the root section of its’ external gills.

These correspondences in the card speak to me of a need to make sure that you speak your mind when ideas arise. Remember that not everyone thinks the same, and your ideas and thoughts are often going to be innovative and completely different than how other people might see something or sort out a resolution to a problem.  In sharing those ideas, you expand their minds and allow your own creativity to shine.

DECK USED: LIVE A COLORFUL LIFE ZENTANGLE ORACLE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

Finding the Positive for July 4 – 6

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Dragons and Other Beverage Beasts Oracle, Mari Mali Oracle, L'Oracle des Esprits Guides, and It’s Going To Be Okay 2024 Day-to-day Calendar By Kate Allan

July 4 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Milkshake Monster combined with the affirmation “Even while you feel rotten to the core, your light shines bright.”

I wouldn’t consider the Milkshake Monster to be rotten to the core, but he’s definitely messy. Like all milkshakes?  He also probably tastes pretty delicious.   There’s lots of foods like that, yeah?  Barbecue wings, melty ice cream cones, juicy Hawaiian chicken burgers… all messy.  All delightful.

So are you.  Even when you’re a mess.  Even if you’re tired or struggling, snotty or overwhelmed by chaos.  Even when the chaos of what’s going on around you splatters all over you.  You’re still someone’s shining light.

DECK USED: DRAGONS AND OTHER RARE BEVERAGE BEASTS AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

July 5 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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Today’s card is the Jasmine card combined with the affirmation “You have conquered every single bad day of your entire life. Today will be no different.”

Jasmine is well known as an aromatic plant, and is used in aromatherapy to reduce stress, improve mood, and reduce food cravings. In fact, in my home, I use a slight hint of jasmine oil inside the front door to help ease people’s stress when they step over the threshold.

That said, though, this plant has a lot more to offer that people don’t often realize. It has medicinal properties that lend it to use as a topical agent for helping to reduce breast milk production, ease some skin disease symptoms, and speed up wound healing. It can also be used to flavor beverages, candy, baked goods, puddings, and frozen dairy desserts, for one. (If you haven’t had frozen jasmine custard? Oh my god, you’re missing out.)

The one property that this plant has in common throughout all of it’s different uses? Is its gentleness. It is light and delicate on the senses, and in all the ways that it can be incorporated into use in our lives.

The message here between the Jasmine card and today’s affirmation is a reminder to be kind with yourself.  Be gentle with yourself when things go awry.  You’re a survivor and you’re going to make it through.  There’s no need to make the experience worse than it already is by being rough with yourself or cruel in your thoughts to yourself.  Be gentle instead, and you’ll make it through those difficult days just a little bit easier.

DECK USED: MARI MALI ORACLE AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN

July 6 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was fifteen minutes long (or possibly a few minutes shorter than that, since I dozed off at the end before the chime brought me back).  It was a self-directed meditation that focused upon the graphic included with today’s cards that states “Anything you lose by speaking your truth isn’t a loss: it’s an alignment.”

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Today’s card is the Peacock card titled “Beauty” combined with the affirmation “It’s completely okay if you cry today.”

In the book for this deck, the passage for this card is all about the beauty and peace all around you, it talks about harmonious energies and how the beauty of the world around us can lift our spirits.  When this is combined with the affirmation for today, what I am drawn to is that feeling of peaceful ache that comes after you cry.

I mean, at least that’s what happens when I cry, usually.   There’s the big emotion and the clashing chaos of tears and hiccuped breaths and snuffles.  Like a pressure cooker letting out its steam, the cry pushes the emotions up and out, spilling them everywhere and making a mess.

And, after all that?  There’s a moment of silence.  A moment of peace and tranquility.

The cards for the day are a reminder of that moment of tranquility, and that even if you don’t -want- to cry?  Sometimes that moment of peace that comes afterward makes it all worth it.

DECK USED: L’ORACLE DES ESPRITS GUIDES AND IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY 2024 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR BY KATE ALLAN