Inviting Courage In

Strength is Cultivated with Gentle Choices

Numerologically 2023 is a 7, in tarot that represents The Chariot.

The Chariot is one of those cards that is deeply rich in meaning and intensely layered. Overall, it's a card about determination, focus, grit, willpower, and balance.

Balance to me is a constant push and pull and sway. A beautiful fluctuation to keep the cart from tipping over. It is constant movement and action. It is flexibility to move through everything that needs to be done without letting go of what's important. Like a wheel, balance means rolling with it all.

And it's not easy. This year was not easy. It was HARD WORK to get here. Which is why the key words for The Chariot are focus, determination, and grit. The driver of the chariot must be focused on the cart, the horse, and the path ahead. And focus is usually cultivated through surrendering to stillness. We all benefit from resting our thinking minds. It is what opens the path for new perspectives, which in turn are new opportunities. What opens up for us when we say no and choose nothing instead? With a still mind you learn what matters most and knowing allows our minds to focus on balancing the cart (home/personal life), driving the horse (work or mission), and winning the race (our life).

In this Chariot year we were called to awaken and face things head on. It has been a year to take the next steps and clear our paths. It was a time to roll forward. We do this for ourselves and not for others. This was not the year to overextend ourselves for others, and maybe you felt it too when you did toooooo much. Because I was still incorporating this lesson through December and got another big taste of burnout (and many other times this year) as a result...

So as we finish out 2023 and look towards the new year, instead of forcing the cart and horse, we need to flow in order to curate our own environment, believe in our own abundance, and remember that our journey is just as important as the goal.

May we all be able to let go and embrace radical acceptance....Accept all situations that are outside of our control without judging them in order to reduce the suffering that is caused by them. We know what you can control - yourself. And what we can't - others. You love them and nurture them and provide care, but you can't pull their cart too. Surrender and you learn trust. It's time to hold ourselves accountable and move forward. It's time to let the year go.

I am so ready...

2024 is an 8 year, represented by the Strength card in tarot. In numerology 8 represents balance and infinity. 8 is fortitude. It's exhibiting capability, patience, and determination in the belief that things will come around. It is being willing to go through the struggles because there is no doubt that there's something better on the other side.

In tarot, the Strength card also represents strength, determination, and power – similar to The Chariot. The Chariot signifies outer strength and will, the Strength card speaks to inner strength and our ability to overcome any obstacle. Strength is about knowing you can endure life’s obstacles. It is having stamina and persistence AND patience and inner calm.

It's moving through life calmly and courageously.

It's not anticipating that things will be hard, but when they are, it's an inner knowing that you will endure and persevere anyway.

It's embodying the knowledge that the only way out is through.

In troubling times it's normal for anger, rage, sadness, guilt or shame to rise up within us. However, it’s what you do with these emotions that makes all the difference. Fear and anger are valid and useful when the fire fuels action. But we shouldn't let it sink in to the body and find a home - because that same fire unused and internalized can breed anguish, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, and hate.

Living in the world can be scary.

Chasing big dreams is scary.

Finishing that thing and putting yourself out there is scary.

Working hard towards a goal and heading in to a new direction is scary.

But we need more smart and silly courage in our lives.

And, what if it all works out?

2024 will ask us to consider the possibility.

What if everything works out?

What if instead of complaining that everything is trash and broken we just spend more of our energy on solutions?

What if we bypass self deprecation altogether?

What if we look around and think, I can help change that for the better?

What if we walked through the world without outrage and pessimism fueling us?

What if we are strong enough to save the world?

Because it is actually our job to save the world and we do it courageously everyday.

I see it everyday.

Individually we do our part - with compassion and strength and vulnerability.

We love our children and try to raise them to be better than ourselves.

We uplift our communities to help them flourish.

We feed our people and try to ensure other people’s people are fed.

We give so much.

We stand on the front lines and shout for change.

We stand up in our spaces and expect better.

We choose time and time again to help physically, financially, spiritually.

We write books and poems, create art and music, and pour our souls into the world every single day.

We pick ourselves back up when we fall, and we help others we care about do the same.

All of these and more are acts of love for a better world. They are all strength and bravery and courage in action. All of these things matter even though individually we are led to believe they are insignificant.

They are not insignificant acts. They are acts of endurance, bravery, and love.

We give and love and fight and rest.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you it isn’t enough.

So let's take care of ourselves and especially our hearts this year - dance and cook, be fearless in your love, make love, snuggle your pets and children everyday, stare out a window letting the sunlight or moonlight stream across your face for even just a moment, create and destroy, daydream something beautiful, be here now, and bear witness to it all. Let's do all these things and more.

I believe in our strength and determination.

I believe in us.