New Year's Words to Ski By

Here are some words of wisdom from my dear friend John. I don't know what brought this moment back to me, but it did change my perspective on life, the universe, and everything and New Year's Eve seems like the perfect time to remember.

Back in college, four of us went on a ski weekend to Georgia Bay in Canada. I had never skied before and was nervous. John is pretty much an Olympic class skier and wasn't and the others in our group were somewhere in between our skill levels.

I stayed on the bunny slope and they all went off to ski various quintuple black tetrahedron runs (no, not really, but I wasn't leaving the bunny trail so what did I know?).

For those of you who don't know, skiing in Georgia Bay tends to be icy with perhaps a sprinkle of snow. It's not the white powder you find in other parts of the world. It's hard. It's slippery, and it'll take you down faster than you can order a hot buttered rum.

I want you to know that I tried. I really tried. But, of course, on my first time down the bunny hill, I fell and twisted my knee. Luckily, it swelled up in such a way that I was able to hold it in the correct position to keep skiing so I kept at it (yes, I was a dumbass and I do know better now). While the others skied where they chose, I became better acquainted with the bunny hill and every single possible place on it to fall, slip, roll, and otherwise land on my butt.

During one of my attempts, John skied toward me. I remember marveling at how much control he had as he slowly skied up. His skis whispered across the ice as he slalomed alongside me. I was fumbling and bumbling and almost falling and had no control of speed, trajectory, or whether or not I was going to pee my pants.

"How's it going," he asked as he pulled up beside me.

"I've fallen every single time I've skied this damn hill," I grumbled and gainfully held back tears. (To this day, I don't know if he knew how I upset I was, but we were good enough friends that I could cry in front of him and he wouldn't have teased me about it, at least not then.)

"That's good," he replied.

"Good?" I was shocked. "why is it good?"

"It's good to fall," John said as he paced me with utter control of his skis. "I fall a lot when I ski," he continued.

"You do?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep," he said. "If you don't fall when you ski, you aren't skiing hard enough."

I am sure he didn't realize the impact those few words would have on me, but that bit of wisdom has stayed with me. And every single time I go up against a new challenge I remind myself of that simple statement. "If you don't fall when you ski, you're not skiing hard enough."

Words to live by.

Personal Demons? What personal demons?

Ten of Pentacles, Page of Cups, the Hermit. Seriously? These cards? Together?? Normally, when I draw cards, I see some sort of story. This morning? Heh, it will take some doing. The best thing I can tell you is that your intuition is trying to tell you something. Stop ignoring it. Whatever is going on in your life, you're shutting your eyes and ears to an important message and the question to ask yourself is why? Why ignore what could be so very good for you? Why turn a blind eye to the truth that's been sitting up and begging to be acknowledged? Sometimes, we ignore the very thing we need to analyze, the thing that we need to address. When we do, it's often because we're afraid. Fear can be a great motivator, but it can also leave us paralyzed and today isn't a day to be paralyzed. Today is more a day to draw back and assess your feelings, your situation, and most of all, yourself.

Now, let's break down the cards. The Ten of Pentacles says you want a sense of permanence. The Page of Cups says new things are coming (especially on an emotional level) and that might be scary but needs to be addressed. The Hermit? The Hermit is a card of solitude. Allow yourself the time to be alone, and perhaps even lonely. That loneliness has information for you. It will help you figure out the very things you want and need. Look at it. Look at what makes you lonely in the moment. Is it a ghost of desires past, or is there something else you could be learning from it? Because if you can learn from this loneliness, well then, you'll never better for next time.

If you keep pushing yourself in the direction of people (who may or may not satisfy the loneliness and chances are they won't, because I'm betting it's an internal issue that needs to be addressed) then you won't make the decisions you need to make for your long-term wellbeing. Here's what sucks: what's good (or seems good) for you in the moment, is not necessarily good for you in the long run. So, consider turning your back on the shiny, pretty distractions. Instead, focus in on yourself, even if that kind of assessment scares you. Now, today, if you're going to get information on how to proceed, on what's best for you, it's going to be because you stand up to some of your internal demons and tell them to sit down and hush. They won't necessarily disappear, but at least they'll have to take notice that you're on to them and that eventually, you will kick them out on their rear ends.

Not going to take it anymore? Fine, then own that.

There's nothing like getting work cards on a Monday. Today's cards are: The Magician, the Nine of Cups, and the Eight of Swords. The Magician is a "go get 'em" card. He tells us to focus, find purpose, and plunge into the fray for we will win, if we just jump in and act purposefully. However, he also says that we must really, truly know what we want. If we just jump in without having a real clue as to our true goals, things will get majorly messed up. So, if you know what has to happen, if you've thought it through, if your heart is set on it, if you feel peaceful and like it's the one, true course of action, then go for it. Otherwise, sit tight and wait until things settle in and feel right.

Feeling trapped by circumstances will be troubling today. (There's the eight of swords rearing her troubling head.) If you feel like a good bit of your life is spent doing things you don't want to do, then you need to see where you can lessen those activities. They might be work, they might be home - it doesn't matter. What matters is that you need to cut away those things that make you unhappy. Take how you spend your time in your own hands and only do that which you want/need to do rather than what you feel obligated to do. It will give you a feeling of greater freedom.

The Nine of Cups is the happy merchant. It represents the person who is truly happy in his or her work. If you are happy, more power to you. If you aren't, today is the day to begin to do something about it. Again, though, this isn't about jumping up on your desk and screaming "I'm not going to take it anymore!" When we want to succeed, we often have to know those around us as well, or better than, we know ourselves. If someone at work is making your life harder, try to see beyond his or her work mask. Find compassion for what they are going through and you might find yourself no longer on opposites sides of whatever is going on. Now, it might not make a hill of beans worth of difference, but then again, it might. If the only difference is that you have a better understanding of what causes that person to behave this way, then it will still make a difference in how you approach your work environment.

So, ultimately, it looks like today is about taking charge of your time and work. If you want to move forward, do it from a knowledgeable point of view. If you want to stay right where you are, know that on some (most if not all) level, you remain where you are because you have chosen to do that. Own your decisions, own your current status and you will be shocked at how much more relaxed and peaceful you will feel.

The Marriage of being a visionary and a doer

The Star, The Moon (reversed) and the Three of Pentacles. Today, it's pretty simple. There's a time to be inspired and there's a time to put our noses to the grindstone and just do the work to make things happen.

Some people are idea people, visionaries. They see far and clearly. Their ideas are innovative, unique, and revolutionary. But, even with all those fantastic ideas, those very same people often can't put one foot in front of the other to actually make the things they so clearly see in their minds. Others are the nuts and bolts people who can take those ideas and turn them into reality. They know how to develop plans of action, they know how to take those steps to do the work to create and/or support the manifestation of the vision.

The key to success, I believe, is to have both inside us. We can't just have the brilliant ideas without the wherewithal to actually manifest what we envisioned. So we need to cultivate both sets of characteristics. The Star, the Moon, and the Three of Pentacles epitomize this state for me. The Moon is visions, ideas, inspiration, possibility. The Three of Pentacles is the nose-to-the-grindstone, buckle down and do the work card. And the Star is the synthesis of those two. It calls us to keep reach for the stars (dream, envision, inspire) while we keep our feet on the ground (plan, strategize, do).

That meeting of Earth and sky, that distant horizon, if you will, is where we need to go to achieve whatever level of success we decide upon. Ultimately, one cannot exist without the other. It takes partnering those two different parts of ourselves and strengthening the one that is more challenged.

So, which are you more like, the dreamer or the doer? Decide and then spend today cultivating the strengths of the other side. Are you a dreamer? Practice taking a step to plan and do. Make a list of what you wish to accomplish today and check each thing off. (Make it small and manageable or your dreamer side will rebel.) Try not to take on too much or you will get discouraged and might quit in frustration. Each small accomplishment will make room inside you to work on the bigger challenges. Are you a doer? Spend part of today finger painting, smelling roses, or just doodling and see where it gets you. I guarantee, it will get you somewhere wonderful.