Some of the same cards keep cropping up. Today, it’s the Eight of Cups. I just chose it two days ago and now here it is again. I know what it’s trying to tell me, but sometimes, I have trouble keeping my ears (and my mind) open. Simply, the card is trying to tell me not to regret any of the choices that have brought me to this place. Here and now, today, this dark, pre-spring morning, with the dog and one of the cats beside me, I am the sum of all I have chosen up to this moment. It’s a lot to take in at 6am but it’s necessary. See, the other two cards are the High Priestess (choices to make and Choices to Make) and the Knight of Cups (living in that emotional place that lets you be authentic but also vulnerable).

So, here I am thinking about the choices I’ve made up to now and the High Priestess tells me that there are some big choices coming up soon. I’m deciding to take it as a sign that I need to look at my internal choices. I choose how to react to adversity. I choose how to feel about bad news, good news, and in-between news. I choose exactly what path I will take and need to be willing to face the consequences of that choice.

That’s the biggie, right there. We can choose to do anything we want to do, but we must be willing to think slightly longer-term than the immediate gratification of whatever we want. We must look at the aftermath, the consequences, and the fall-out, if there will be any. Are we willing to pay the price then? If so, if you really know what you want and are willing to live with whatever happens afterward, then I say go for it. If you aren’t, or if you aren’t sure, then stop, look, listen, and assess because regret will kick you in the teeth later on.

And I wish for all of us that we never regret what we’ve done. I’d like to have it be either because we consciously choose to do no harm (to ourselves or anyone else) or because we’ve thought about it long and hard and realized that temporary troubles are worth the long term gains. Be sure about this one. The Knight of Cups warns us that our hearts are in this and vulnerable.

Choose wisely. Be willing to live with your choice. And choose.