Tag: mental-health

The Dregs of Summer

It’s August

Late August

I don’t like summer, especially the ass-end of it when my patience with blazing sun, heat and humidity is long gone. There is always a little bit of an energy shift when dog days end, even more so around the 21st when we are closer to the end of the season. It is the glimpse of cool darkness at the end of a blazing white hot tunnel if you’ll pardon the color-flipped metaphor.

Maximum yang, like peak summer heat, demands a healthy dose of yin in response. All this summering asks for some resting. Rest doesn’t have to be a full on vacation or a power nap (although a power nap is ALWAYS a good thing when you can manage it.) Sometimes it is just a matter of cutting yourself a little bit of slack. Take your foot off the gas on the downhill, if that makes any sense of it.

That’s what I’m doing for a few weeks. I’m retreating to my cyberspace comfort zone instead of taking the usual full break from the Internet. My basic plan is to drag some stuff out of the archives to post and do a basic re-set here on the blogs and newsletter. It’s time to collect myself and get ready for fall, that most wonderful time of the year.

Happy Pumpkin Spice Everything to those who celebrate!

PS – Private readings by email are ALWAYS OPEN, sabbatical, real holiday, fake pumpkin spice holiday or otherwise! Order your private email Tarot reading 24/7, no appointment needed HERE

Weekend Oracle: One Touch

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”

William Shakespeare

Yes, by all means, go touch grass this weekend. Or any time.

I forget the source, but somebody somewhere did a small study of the effects of looking at photos of natural settings on real time blood pressure. Just looking at nature in a photo will bring blood pressure down.

Imagine what a small barefoot walk in the grass can do.

I don’t know if anyone has gone full science on it, or followed up the long term effects of engaging with nature on one level or another, even a photographic one.

It seems to me that one touch of nature is a good thing for humans, both psychologically and physiologically. We are wired that way.

It also seems to me that human nature is part of the nature that Shakespeare mentions, even though I doubt he meant it that way as he lived and wrote centuries before the advent of modern psychology. The Taoists were down with the whole idea centuries before Shakespeare.

Feeling connected is a basic human need, for everyone everywhere, throughout time. This weekend touch grass. If not the literally, touch something that is part of your own nature to enjoy. Enjoy some small part of the environment you are in, including urban ones. When you enjoy any little anything, you are connected to not only that thing, but all of your fellow humans that enjoy that thing too.

An ice cream cone, a barefoot walk in the backyard, a bike ride, jog in the park, a little phone scroll, a cup of coffee and a good book, play your favorite song just a little bit louder than usual; whatever it is in your nature to enjoy, touch that. As long as it harms no one, do what you will to paraphrase a saying. Touch your happiness, and you can connect with the energy of all the others who have found a similar joy.

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Solitude doesn’t have to be lonely

Sage Sips blog is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness”

Maggie Smith

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness” – Maggie Smith

The source wasn’t cited, but recently on social media someone posted a meme that said something along the lines of “Loneliness is the price you pay for personal growth.”

Yes and No. 

On one hand, it is a very common thing that I’ve seen time and time and time again in Tarot clients – and have experienced myself…

When you heal or grow as a person, old connections often fall away. Sometimes you simply outgrow old friends or family members. Sometimes you all are growing in lovely, healthy, beautiful ways – but in entirely different directions. Whatever the reason, that change can feel very lonely. 

Your path to wisdom, autonomy, and emotional maturity is uniquely your own so yes, your spiritual path is one you by definition must walk alone. 

But no, it need not be lonely. Not at all. 

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness.” We walk our spiritual paths alone, but it can be a journey of peaceful solitude rather than painful loneliness. 

As old friends fall away, we can hold space for new ones to come along. When we are true to ourselves and learn to make peace with our path, we often find ourselves in more company than we expected. “Your vibe calls your tribe” as the saying goes.

If our path is lonely rather than peaceful solitude, it begs the question of who are we lonely for? Are we lonely for other people or are we lonely for a happier version of ourselves? Being at peace with outer life can only begin with accepting and making friends with our inner selves. When the Hermit on the card holds his lantern up to a mirror, what does he see? 

The beautiful part of walking a solitary path is that it is still progress. If you don’t like what you see in the Hermit’s mirror, change it. In the words of Alan Watts “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.”

This kind of change is well within your power to do, but it has risk. 

For good or for bad, other people might not like the changes you make. The change, like the Hermit’s lamp, brings the problems to light. Those who never respected you in the beginning, those who take advantage of you or project their issues on to you are probably the only ones falling away. The unhealthy relationships are the first to go. The people who need you to be at your worst are often the first to fade away when you are at your best.

Alone need not be lonely. Sometimes alone is freedom. Time alone often gives your spirit the space to heal. No one can do that for you. The key to transforming loneliness into peaceful solitude is not other people. It’s you, making peace with you.

Loneliness isn’t a call to fill an empty spot with another person. Loneliness is a call to fill the emptiness with the best version yourself.