Brittani with Grace: The Star
Contributed by Brittani with Grace
Hello everybody! Welcome to my column. Each month I will draw a Major Arcana tarot card which represents one of many possible paths to follow. Major Arcana cards represent the archetypical themes of life, presenting the overall possible experiences.
Deck: Mermaid Tarot by Leeza Robertson Illustrations by Julie Card: 17 The Star
The Star card is the epitome of Hope. Hope is the yearning for something to appear in our lives. Hope is said to be the pinpoint of encouragement, manifestations, and future happiness. Hope allows us to escape the current moment’s reality into a daydream of something desired.
Wishing upon a Star, day dreaming, vision boards, and visualization meditations are all examples of Hope. When we know what it is our heart desires, we send out an energetic frequency. Sometimes what we dream of is so big it’s scary. Sometimes it’s something small and just helps us to feel better in the moment. Either way, hoping is the cornerstone of our wishes coming true.
Hope can be a complicated concept. In fact, I would like to take a moment to talk about the other side of Hope. The disappointment, discouragement and the let down that comes along when what we had hoped for doesn’t come to fruition.
There are times when we Hope so hard, we Hope so much, that we can feel it coursing throughout our beings. We focus so hard on it happening that when it doesn’t, we fall into despair. We suddenly feel as though because it didn’t happen when we thought it should, it means it never will. I know personally there are times when I have had so much Hope in a single moment, waiting and convincing myself that this big thing will happen right then, because I so desperately wanted or needed it to, only to be crushed when it didn’t.
When this happens to us, we tend to jump on the judgement train of how we react; whether it is big or small, we have been hoping for years, days, or even just a few hours.
Even something as small as hoping for French fries from an airport restaurant during a layover can be disappointing. Our flight had been delayed an hour and a half. We got off the plane, went right next door only to have them tell us that just a few minutes before we arrived they had completely run out. To add insult to injury, the waitress explained how that had never happened before and how she, herself, was astonished. Excellent. The excitement and hope I had felt vanished. My entire being slumped and the wave of frustration and disappointment washed over me. I was hungry, tired, and now my plan had been obliterated.
I became cranky, my mind slammed shut, and I even almost cried. We decided just to leave, because my stubborn self-had decided that since I wasn’t getting the fries, I didn’t want anything. Nothing sounded good and I was just going to starve. My partner lovingly looked at me and said, “maybe this is an opportunity for growth”, and as my eyes turned into laser focused daggers my mouth opened and in a mocking tone said, “maybe this is an opportunity for growth” (Yeah, I sure am real mature in these situations) he laughed and pulled me in for a hug. (Man he is so incredibly patient) Back on the plane as my frustration grew knowing that when we landed back in Alaska everything would be closed, I felt hopeless; which caused a spiral of disappointment to the point where I was even questioning myself “why can’t I just be like those easy ‘go with the flow’ people” I had allowed myself to spinout over French fries. Eventually, as we were getting ready to hit the taxi way before take off, I breathed deeply and transitioned myself into a state of gratitude, as I do every time we are about to take off, and I was able to laugh at myself for my reaction. I was able to sit back and ask myself what was the belief about not getting the fries, that sent me into such darkness? A belief is just a thought we tell ourselves over and over again, so what was it that I believed about the disappointment that brought on the overwhelming despair? Doing so allowed my mind the ability of re- opening to other possibilities and hoping for something new. The flight attendant appeared later with an “adult lunch-able snack pack” and all was right with the world.
I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know why something as simple as delicious sounding gorgonzola cheese sauce fries can send me into a tailspin of crushing disappointment.
What I do know is that it’s okay. My emotions and feelings about the situation are valid. Having the awareness to recognize the reactions to crushing hope, gives me back the power to respond in a new way moving forward. So, I will continue to allow myself to Hope. Allow myself to dream. Allow myself to live in the ever-loving frequency of happiness and joy as I transmute the energy around me.
Don’t be so hard on yourself and don’t ever quit your daydreams.