On Persistence and Having the Space to Fail

 

“To be successful at anything, you need the right to fail, not just occasionally.”
— Stephen Frears

 

At one point or another in our lives, we all our faced with failure. Something that we try to do doesn’t work. Perhaps everything in our life falls apart at once. At those times we need to learn to move onwards and try again. This comes easier for some of us then for others.
Some of us were raised in families with high expectations and failure was taught to be something to be ashamed of. Many people who are over achievers in their life come from this type of background. However when things go wrong for them, they tend to really go wrong. They were never given space for failure and so they don’t deal with it well. Others who come from this background learn to never take risks. They live safe lives but seldom find fulfilment.
Many of us were luckier. Our families taught us the value of persistence and that not everything in life works out magically. We were taught that its ok to fall down seven times as long as you are able to get up for an eighth, ninth or even tenth try. These are the people who tend to find the greatest joy because they are not afraid to take risks and they know that there is always a possibility that things won’t work out so they have a plan B and possibly C, D and E waiting in the wings as well.
It is possible for both the person too fearful to take a risk or the overachiever who has had their lives fall apart to learn to persist tho it may take years. In the long run like so much else, it all depends on who it is that we want to be in our lives and having the courage to be it even if we don’t always get it right.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Transversing the Dream RoadsTransversing the Dream Roads by G A Rosenberg

 

Distorted CavernDistorted Cavern by G A Rosenberg

 

Persistance Through Adversity — Doggerel for a Summer’s Evening

 

“It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.”
― Joseph Conrad

 

Missteps in life
Missteps in art
sometimes the balance
just falls apart

 

Seems I’ve tried
and I know I’ve failed
behind many others
I seemed destined to trail

 

Better to try
something I’ve never done
then stay at home
with all songs unsung

 

I’ll aim for a mile
if I only get half
than that’s eight eighty yards
I might as well laugh

 

It’s half mile more
than those who never left
so yeah I’m making distance
it’s them who’s bereft

 

If I find I’ve run
in the wrong direction
I just shake my head
and make a correction

 

For things set in motion
tend to stay that way
If I stay at rest
than I’ve wasted a day

 

or why not waste two
why should I go on?
Making mistakes
never game one

 

With each failure I learn
a new way to try
Even if I lose
I’m beginning to fly
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G
 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

The Phoenix ShieldThe Phoenix Shield by G A Rosenberg

 

Of Myths and RitualRitual Forces by G A Rosenberg

 

Detaching From Success

 

“If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;”
— Rudyard Kipling “If”

 

I keep falling into the same trap. I get so caught up in wanting to do something right or optimally that I either freeze up and find myself putting things off or I set myself up to fail. This can pertain to anything from working on the tarot book to my interactions with my family. It seems that success comes easiest when it doesn’t matter whether I succeed or not. If I can detach from needing to succeed, then I give myself room to accomplish a lot more. Both personally and professionally.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Conceptual Skyline taking FormForming the Conceptual Skyline by G A Rosenberg

 

The Centre of the JewelContemplating the Centre by G A Rosenberg

Tarot Post – Eight Of Cups

 

Eight of Cups (Indolence / Failure)

 

G`Eight Of Cups (Revised) by G A Rosenberg

Joy has brought you here
The gates of wisdom beckon
Begin your climb now

 

Long have I stayed here
drinking deeply of the pleasures offered
Now my soul longs for more
Cups lie empty strewn around me.
Surely there must be more!
I look out and feel a yearning
a calling- some message
telling me…what?
that I can be more than this mundane creature
with neither needs nor ambition
that there is purpose and meaning
once I give it such.
I know I will be changed
by what lies ahead
Do I have a choice?
Stay here and become not
bur remain that which I’ve been
or follow the pull
on mind heart and being
no choice at all
I reach out and
I’m gone
– GAR

 

The suite of Cups deal with our emotional nature including love, both that as in a relationship between two (and rarely more) people and that of friends and companions. Eights deal with recognition of boundaries and a focus of the energies to move on and continue. Sometimes we stay a little to long at the party. This can be a literal party or a relationship or a job where things have been great, they’ve been good and we settled and now things have gone stagnant. We have stopped growing which can quickly poison any situation. Water left standing too long becomes unfit to drink.

We know that there is something out there that can renew us, a new adventure in the offering with new challenges Something that can motivate us to be better than we’ve ever been. All we need to do is find it in ourselves to leave what we’re used to in order to pursue it.

 

Astrological Correspondence – Saturn in Pisces – The Saturn in Pisces energy tends to be very sensitive to everything that doesn’t work about a situation. This can be amazing as it can inherently understand and communicate the failings (and feelings) of others. This can lead to being overwhelmed by all the incoming emotional data and lead to freezing up. However, there is also a core of courage and resolution that called upon can help the Saturn in Pisces energy continue onwwards. Channeled correctly this energy can bring one far in terms of art and music and other forms of self-expression.

 

I Ching Correspondence – 46) Shêng – Pushing Upwards –

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The Trigram for Earth is over that of Wood. To break through the packed earth, the growing wood must use some effort to push upwards. There is progress in this hexagram but only if one perseveres. With the proper push, much direct progress can be made. Indeed the only thing that stands in the way of growth and prosperity is the inertia of whatever lies on top. So how to get past that? Only with courage and resolution is this possible. One large push past the obstruction and there after without limits

 

When the Eight of Cups turns up in a reading, it often shows that there is some disillusion with one’s present circumstances. It is the feeling that there is something better out there somewhere if only we had the courage to get up and leave and pursue it. The card may also refer to a sense of failure when really it is just that our current situation has run its course. The energy of this card is not a tragic one as much as it is a call to action. This action is not necessarily jumping into a new situation, whether it be living situation or relationship as much as leaving the current one to take stock of what we learned and from there start anew thus it is often a solitary enterprise. This card may also mean a time to accept the aid of others.

 

When the Eight of Cups comes up reversed, it may mean that even tho we may feel its time to leave our current situation, there is still more joy and knowledge that we can gain from it. It can also mean coming to terms with our current situation in a way that we haven’t before. This card may also mean that one is refusing to leave the party when it is time either out of laziness or fear of the unknown

Tarot – Seven of Pentacles

 

Seven of Pentacles (Failure / Stagnation)

 

Seven of PentaclesSeven of Pentacles by G A Rosenberg

 

Fruit lies on the vine
Love and effort placed it there
Soon we’ll have a feast.

 

Fruit lies on the vine
Neglected it rots away
sowing future seeds

 

With so many seeds planted
and a bountiful harvest
food for thought and body
abundantly present
I rested on my laurels
No not rested
I stopped
and let the world
turn without me
not realizing
the inherent contradiction
of how we and our worldview reflect
and so the fruit rotted on the vine
and a season lost or suspended
yet from today’s failure
tomorrow’s successes bear fruit .

 

The suit of Pentacles refers to the element of Earth and of practical matters such as money and partnerships both of a business nature and of the home. They can also represent nature, the Earth itself as well as our bodies. Sevens represent our desires and wants and the paths and challenges we take to achieve them. When we reach a certain level of success in our pursuits, we often stop and take time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Sometimes when this happens a certain amount of inertia can creep in and we may find it difficult to return to our tasks with the same amount of effort we put into them. How easy it is to keep looking at our beautiful garden and ignore the creeping weeds or the fact that it is time to harvest a new season’s growth rather than leave it for the birds or to rot stagnant. When this happens, it helps to see it as a wake-up call rather than a reason to despair. For properly tended, the field left fallow will in the next season prove even more productive.

 

Astrological Correspondence – Saturn in Taurus – The Saturn in Taurus energy is one that builds slowly and pays attention to detail to ensure that the exact results desired happen in the order and time frame desired. Saturn in Taurus can become stuck though and continue following the same routine long after it has worn out its usefulness. Eventually tho, given the practical nature of Taurus, a course correction will take place and a new more productive routine ensue.
There is also an element in the energy to ‘making up’ perceived inequalities from the past, ever trying to play ‘catch-up’. This will eventually result in pursuits of a higher nature.

 

I Ching Correspondence – 12) P’i – StandStill / Stagnation

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The Trigram of Heaven is over that of Earth. The idea of that is that Heaven rises and Earth falls and there is less and less relationship and interplay between the two, resulting in stagnation. During these times when there seems to be little productivity, it may benefit to sit things out for awhile until further growth and progress becomes possible. It is very easy to force oneself to work at a pursuit that he does not feel invested in but the effort will reflect his interest. It is better to wait until the interest is renewed which given that harvesting crops or ideas tend to be cyclical will come around again.

 

In a reading the Seven of Pentacles can refer to a project that has stalled or stopped being productive. It may feel like a plane that is circling the airport yet unable to land. What is obstructing the project or the landing strip? Is it just a matter of time? The Seven of Pentacles may also be directing us to look at how we have been attending to the project at hand. Have we been actively invested or are we just going through the motions? What is the purpose? Have we set our sights high enough? There is an implication in the Seven of Pentacles when it occurs in a reading, that once this period has run its course, it will be faced with new internal growth and maturity.

 

When the Seven of Pentacles turns up reversed then what was previously stagnant may now be resulting in new growth. We may feel a sense of renewal as things start moving again. It may also mean that we have abandoned the project that had grown stagnant on us in order to focus on more lively pursuits.