Today's Tarot: Four of Pentacles (Control, taking stock, being possessive)

(Control, Taking Stock, Being Possessive)

The Four of Pentacles always makes me think of grabbing my life’s bull by its horns and the difference between how others view us and how we view ourselves. Let’s take the words self-centered. In our society, we generally have a negative view of someone if we describe them as self-centered. To that, I say, exactly what is wrong with being centered on yourself? 

Certainly, we all have responsibilities and we all live up to them to varying degrees. However, we also have a responsibility to ourselves, to take care of ourselves, and to see to our own wellbeing. Many of us will put ourselves dead last as we try to satisfy the needs of those around us way before we ever look to see what we need.

So, today, I challenge all of us to be greedy. To be greedy with ourselves. I challenge each of us to evaluate what we need out of every situation and every interaction we have. And furthermore, I say we then act in that self-interest, not in a “I only care about myself” kind of way, but rather in a “I also care about myself” kind of way.

If we are possessive with our time, our energy, and our resources, if we dole them out in a manner that is mindful about what our needs are in the moment, then we will not only have more peace, but we will be able to do what needs doing from a place of giving rather than a place of obligation.

Giving selflessly because we have already taken care of our own needs (or are at least mindful of those needs), puts us in a place to really be present and helpful to those around us. On the other hand, when we give out of duty or obligation while disregarding our own needs, everything about our interactions has a pinched, closed quality and that trick never works (to quote a famous squirrel).

The goal: Being mindful of our needs

The Mission: Evaluate your needs and then act out of that place of being centered on yourself.