From Page of Swords to Two of Wands

Yesterday’s focus – Page of Swords (USE YOUR MIND, BE TRUTHFUL, BE JUST, HAVE FORTITUDE) was on being truthful, just, and moving out of the depression of the weekend. I spent 5 hours with Beadzilla and we created the most amazing things.

From my odd, leftover beads, her vast store of amazing materials, my “color sensitivity,” and her construction skill, we started and finished 10 pieces, and designed 2 more!

Oh, if I could just sit with paper or fabric or beads all around me and whirl them into creations (that someone else would construct) my life would be PERFECT! As for now, I am content to pay for the priviledge.

The creation energy is something I now realize is also very effortlessness. For me it is an expression of the QofP - the ability to make do and create and survive with whatever is to hand. I enjoy having a starting place, a finite set of things that get whisked into an incredible design. One inspiring piece of fabric. A single, off-color pendant, that combines with other tones and shades to make an incredible piece of jewelry. Yum-mmmmy!

The other fascinating part of working with someone on design is that is can click, or not. Beadzilla was telling me a story of two clients, sisters, who wanted to work some meaningful findings into jewelry that they would wear together. Six hours and a big headache later, they had something...but not something great. One sister came back after all the work and said it needed to be re-worked again.

In contrast, we had a blast and the designs just flowed from the board, under her tools and into wonderful, unique little works of art! At the end of the day I was again in a place where I was wrapped in loving gratitude and compliments. Beadzilla expressed appreciation for my design, my color sense and the sheer productivity of the day.

This time, when I felt the urge to creep away, and deflect the compliments, I had to work at staying present - accepting them and being warmed by them. I tried to think about the fact that Beadzilla has little or nothing to gain from false compliments or toadying. We genuinely had fun working together and creating and just spending a nice, gloomy fall afternoon in each other's company.

Making a conscious choice to face the praise squarely and not let it frighten me or turn the relationship into a mistrustful one, felt great. Compliments are from outside. They are the gratitude and expression of another person's point of view - to refuse to hear them can be seen as disrespectful and downright rude.

I LIKE thinking about things this way - even if my past has trained me that compiments cannot be trusted and can be horribly misused, I can make a conscious choice to hear them no matter what and seek the true message.

In this case, I left with my whole being lightened.

What the Two of Wands will bring me today, I do not know. Key words are: PERSONAL POWER, BOLDNESS, ORIGINALITY. I have no immediate sense of how that will play out - but it felt great to vote this morning (a personal power) and I look forward to opportunities for originality!