Spiritual Sunday #11
I used to enjoy doing these every week. Really. Now I'm starting to ask myself, Why?
Guess who's back? Guess who was the first card out of the deck? When I saw him, my first reaction literally was, "Oh, crap ..." There's something honestly sadistic about this broken record theme. But here we are. And I can either wuss out again, or roll with it.
Yes, I know it's not Sunday. But life ... you know. I can either publish this now -- or not at all. Here goes.
This week's theme
The Hermit Rx = isolation, alienation, loneliness, lack of meaning or purpose
This card is about getting in touch with your spiritual center, finding your personal truth, revealing "the meaning of life." Reversed, it indicates that somehow that's not happening properly. Either you're failing to connect, or you need to try harder, or you haven't begun to really try this, or what you've found there so far doesn't provide any answers.
Reversed cards show something twisted or blocked, unfulfilled, undiscovered, unacknowledged or repressed. It can also mean something conducted in extreme privacy -- or even something happening on a subconscious level. So, there are many different ways it can show itself, but it all comes down to this: The energy of this card isn't expressing properly. It's present .. but there's something wrong with it.
The Hermit card shows situations where you're in touch with your own truth, living your divinely designed, authentic life, following the right path according to your own "light." It's about knowing what you know. Being true to yourself. Being comfortable with your beliefs & your choices. <--- & apparently this is what is not happening. It's your job to look at your life & see why.
That's the theme for the week: rediscovering & connecting with your spiritual center in more meaningful ways. Good luck with that.
This week's personal issue
3 of Rods = (What the everloving f***?) ---> expanding current plans, assembling the people & materials needed to move forward on a project, maximizing your resources & potential, making steady progress, "getting it together"
This card depicts rounding up the assets you need to move forward on a solid vision you believe in. This is still in the early stages of development, but at least you have a direction to go & you are making progress.
This week's emotional issue
Knight of Cups Rx = the persona & attitudes that will construct a new creative project (or a whole new level of creative expression) are emerging, but it's all still coming together & not ready for public viewing yet ---> you are deeply involved in planning & incubation --->
You are putting a lot of dream-time into a new project you want to launch, a new creative venture. It may feel "authentically you" ... and worthwhile (and exciting!). That makes getting the details right important, too. But that could take some time -- and you don't want to scrimp or jump the gun with your timing. It may be more satisfying for a while living in the "when dreams come true" fantasy that's driving this, but eventually you're going to have to take a deep breath and do something about it.
Meanwhile, this reversed Knight indicates you're moody, cranky, emotionally out of sorts and perhaps seriously frustrated. There could be a lot of reasons for this, but that doesn't make the frustration any less real. In fact, that annoyance could be one of the obstacles you're trying to overcome.
It's also possible another person in your situation is provoking these reactions and adding to the problem. If so, dealing with him (her) could be symbolically helpful, but don't be too quick to just fix blame and stop with that. If there is such a person, he still reflects inner issues you need to handle. Don't neglect your inner work in favor of quick fixes. Those never last long.
This week's intellectual issue
2 of Swords Rx = getting off the dime, acting on new knowledge and information, putting plans in motion, doing something
This may be the most helpful response to this feeling of gridlock on a practical plane. Momentum carries its own kind of power -- and sometimes the hardest barrier to break is the one where you put it in gear and get started.
This week's practical issue
6 of Pentacles = giving, sharing, being generous, operating from a place of financial balance and security, situations which stress fairness and equity, give-and-take
I'm tempted to just leave that snippet of interpretation to either speak for itself or get shot down ... again. On the one hand, it's the logical progression (I even mentioned this a while back) from the instability of 5 energy (that has come up repeatedly) into the solid grounding and security of 6. In a fair world, this is exactly what one might expect. But this afternoon, writing this, looking at this card, I trip on the memory of things that were "supposed to work out" differently -- but didn't. Things that seemed so rational and sensible on the face of them ... and yet, life had other ideas.
I also hear the echo of something someone said to me in Discord recently ... "but you are wasting your time writing something that no one reads and you don't get paid for."
After two years, time to listen to that one, maybe.
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Well, maybe I accidentally did a good thing. I don't want to do anything but smoke and I'm not doing that so the impasse is pretty well defined. If life is going to be shitty, I just as well be too, I guess.
I know you don't get paid, but I also know that it does get read and appreciated. I was glad to see it this morning. Til I opened it, of course...
Oh, I know the feeling.
The greater question here, of course, is ... "Will anything ever break through this gray gloom on Steemit?" Lots of promises in the air, but so far nothing's happening -- and what does happen doesn't make much difference. People are tired of just treading water and I can't say I blame them.
Add to that the fact that the umbilical cord attached to Bitcoin we used to count on has either broken or become way too stretchy ... and the feeling that we're just adrift and waiting for the inevitable is pretty hard to deny. I do think those of us still here are caught in the grip of a shared delusion that's been pretty hard to crack -- but maybe not impossible.
We're left with the undeniable fact that people don't come to Steemit to read -- and they certainly don't come here because they know they'll find great quality material at the end of the trip. There are islands in the stream that show there is fine quality to be had on Steemit ... if you have the time, patience and determination to search it out -- constantly. Fewer and fewer people have either the time or the valid reasons to do that.
It sure gets no help otherwise in any way that matters ... and I don't say that just regarding "my stuff." My writing is not for everyone ... and I readily acknowledge that. But that does mean it's at an even greater disadvantage. Still, I see gifted people doing beautiful work -- fun, useful, readable, informative posts -- and eventually, reason would say, they'll have to ask themselves why they are spending their time and talents for what amounts to literal pennies. ("Because it still pays better than Facebook," is starting to ring real hollow -- because the truth is "not by much.")
On Steemit, you face this (so far) insurmountable challenge: To "build an audience" of thousands from a user pool most of whom never came to Steemit to read in the first place. The time it takes to chase down every prospective (often unknown / disinterested) "follower" who will be worth maybe a couple of cents now and then ... is simply prohibitive.
Maybe these kinds of returns will feed you for a month in Venezuela ... but I don't live there.
One other thing about Steemit that's worth mentioning -- other platforms have managed to create a user experience that doesn't actually feel dangerous the way it does on Steemit. You know what I mean -- and you've seen examples of it play out in real life. Even writing this feels "dangerous" in a way that's honestly creepy. So, if I'm being advised to "go with my feelings" -- that's the long and short of it.
There is something cultish about this place that belies its self-proclaimed libertarian stance. You're either consistently on the cheer-leading squad ... or you damn well better zip it -- and keep your head down. That's not "freedom" in my definition, that's living under Mafia-rule. And in my experience, not much good comes of it.
Please don't think I'm at all ungrateful for your presence and patronage. They've meant a lot. But of the 1149 people who've thought I was worth enough to "follow" somewhere / somehow / for some reason ... 3 - 5 show up occasionally. (I do thank you also for being consistent!) On blog after blog, including yours, that's the usual story. (Again, people don't come to Steemit to read, and even if they did, there's only so much you can do in a couple of hours -- unless you want to give your life to it ... and I'm guessing that's not the point either!)
Thank you too, for your appreciation -- now and previously. TBH, I also wish the messages were better.
If my blog survives this post, I'll be back later -- and we'll see where we go from there.
Oh, do I get it. I have friends that have moved on. I mean real friends. For the real reasons that you offer here.
I'm not writing much, but what I write has some poop to it. Even the mailboxes are better than average :)
I'm trying to decide whether it's worth just turning loose and writing what I need to write. You see, I have way more in common with Saltnpapper than most others. I'm not writing for the money, I'm writing for the freedom. I've written for the money and the BS isn't worth it to me. Nobody is much reading here today, but are they reading anywhere? Really?
Where is better than here? Medium? BTDT. I think it might be better now, but the change to 'paid' was painful at very best. A guy I knew swallowed his gun out of that deal.
So, I'm guessing I'll be here in one form or another. I am a serious optimist in general terms and I see Pal Net as possibly helping and Lira as taking the whole mess main stream. And I'm old. I knew when I came here that I was probably going to bust my ass for the last time at a place.
I'm just in it for me at this point. I read 50 or so posts a day write a couple a week and that's probably about all I can manage.
We coulda been a contender...