If love is the number one theme of songs, I’d say the topic of time is the runner up. This is a very unofficial observation and opinion, so please don’t quote me. In fact, this is an opinion that I reserve the right to withdraw at any moment of…time.
Think about it though, Cher wants to turn back time. The Rolling Stones think time is on their side. Styx feel like they have too much time on their hands. Jim Croce wants to put time in a bottle. Boy George feels like time won’t give him time. And that’s only the songs I can think of off the top of my head. Why so much crooning over time? Especially when Alan Watts makes an interesting observation: “The future is a concept—it doesn’t exist. There is only present, only an eternal now.” But then, Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
GAH! The struggle around time is real!!
These are some of the thoughts that went through my head, while contemplating today’s spread. The spread sort of landed on me, since it’s a topic that I’ve grappled with many-many TIMES. So many TIMES I’ve been worrying about time, feeling like time is running out for me, and wondering when things in my life will pull together. And just when I think I’m done worrying about this topic, I seem to worry about it more. My life purpose seems to be squeezing out the meaning of this conundrum, until it’s solved. And so far, for me it has not been solved. *sigh*
For today’s spread, I pulled three cards from three different decks:
The Light Seer’s Tarot (Chris-Anne)
5 of Pentacles
The Tarot of Curious Creatures (Chris-Anne)
17. The Star
Affirmators! Cards (Knock Knock)
Divine Timing
In the traditional Rider-Waite Smith deck the five of pentacles card has an illustration that depicts two impoverished people. You know they’re impoverished because even though it’s snowing, they’re outside and ill-prepared for it. They obviously did NOT have access to REI, nor Amazon. One person is on crutches and one is barefoot. I’ve never looked at this card and thought to myself, “Been there, done that!”
And that’s why I love owning different decks, with different illustrations! When I looked at the 5 of Pentacles from the Light Seer’s Deck and saw the person sitting on the floor, arms around their knees, I was instantly reminded of how many times I’d seek solace in some small place, like a bathroom floor (or closet), hands around my knees, eyes closed, and kind of rocking back and forth. Yeah, I HAVE BEEN THERE!
This card deals with worry over resources and security. When one sinks deep into this card, there could be a scarcity mindset, freeze-response, feelings of helplessness, and maybe a smidgen of victimhood (why does this ALWAYS happen to me?!?!!). I have been there, every non-step of the way. It’s paralyzing. Again, I know. I’ve been there. The thing is, with this particular card, if the person in the card would open their eyes and look around, the key is right there. It’s not even sneaky hiding, like it might in an escape room. It’s just leaning there, like “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” (If you didn’t sing that line in your brain like Lionel Richie, go back and read it again.)
With this card, the person is so closed off and so stuck in their thoughts, they can’t see anything else. Even if the key was closer to them, the chaos, the worry, the angst, the internal disaster is so bright, they can’t see it. They can’t see that the solution is right there, within reach. All they have to do is open their eyes, get up, take two steps, and BOOM…. Problem solved. If only they could realize that they have the power to start this solution in motion, by opening their eyes. It’s like Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz. Do you remember what Glinda the Good Witch Told her?
Glinda: You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.
Dorothy: Say what now?!?!
Toto: You heard the lady! Now git!!
After every tower moment, there is a new day. Before that new day, there is The Star card.
The Star is a card about hope and faith. Two things that can be in low quantity when you’re suffering from the Five of Pentacles. In The Tarot of Curious Creatures deck, the illustration makes it look as if there is a self-contained or internal light. Perhaps what is needed, in order to move past all of the Five of Pentacles worries, is to reconnect with one’s internal spark? Our internal spark is such a healing energy and is very much tied to our aliveness. When we awaken our aliveness, it pushes us to get up and dust off. Because our aliveness doesn’t want to sit on the bathroom floor. It wants to feel…. Alive.
Nobody: Sounds good! But how? How do I connect with my aliveness??
Me: Glad you asked! I’ve got some ideas….
Close your eyes…. Well, no…. DON’T close your eyes, because if you close your eyes you couldn’t read what I am about to write. If you now feel compelled to close your eyes, because of my suggesting you close your eyes, maybe just squint? SO, squint your eyes….. Think back to a time when you were talking about something that lit you up in a good way. In a way that made you feel like busting from all the happy inside you? What were you talking about? If you can name it, then that’s a great place to begin. Run with that spark! Fan that flame!
Think back to a moment when time stopped, in a good way. What were you doing? Reading? Writing? Playing? Creating? Kissing the love of your life? If you can name it…. Then, begin here! Run with that spark! Fan that flame!
It’s okay if you’re just coming up empty with these prompts. Perhaps you’re too burned out to feel that spark just yet. Maybe before you can access that spark, you need to work on making conditions that would make a spark viable. Sometimes a spark is buried under unprocessed grief, rage, or sadness. If this is the case, learning how to feel your feelings and let them move through you is where you need to begin. Unprocessed feelings can get stuck inside you. A few years ago I lived in an apartment that had a clogged fireplace and I wasn’t able to light a fire. I tried putting some candles in the fireplace and lighting them, but it just didn’t hold the same energy as a fully raging fire. Emotions getting stuck are just as stifling to your life’s energy. Learning how to let it all out….. That’s the ticket to unclogging and getting back to your spark. Bruce Springsteen says, “You can’t start a fire without a spark….” So true, Bruce. So true. First and foremost, I recommend finding a good therapist. Therapists are not one size fits all. You need to find one who gets you and when you do, it’s incredible what you can accomplish together!! In addition to a therapist, I’ve found moving energy by crying my eyes out in a closet, screaming into a pillow, beating the hell out of a pillow, rage dancing, screaming under water, kickboxing, listening to sad music, journaling the hell out of journaling, and yes, regularly checking in with my therapist. By the way… Pillows see me coming and they run. Just kidding. They can’t run, they have no legs.
And lastly, the final card: Divine Timing.
These three cards work well together to sum up a struggle I’ve experienced OVER and over AND over and OVER again throughout my life. From personal experience, I believe that time inflates certain problems or concerns. And what I mean by that is, if you were to take time out of the equation, certain problems don’t seem so big. In fact, I might go as far to say that ALL problems wouldn’t seem so big.
I just finished watching a Dr Who episode where a certain un-named person was….. (I WILL NOT provide descriptive full on spoilers. However, I’ll do a soft pastel fuzzy spoiler….) As I was saying, an un-named person was saved from an inevitable death. This person was to go back in time, to said death moment and die, but since this person had a time-machine and time wasn’t an issue, felt free to make some unscheduled stops along the way. Suddenly, impending death didn’t seem so bad.
Without time, life wouldn’t seem like we’re zooming towards an inevitable exit. The older we get, the closer the exit seems, and time feels faster. There have been moments in my life where I would swear my internal soundtrack is playing tick-tock, tick-tock, like a horror movie might. What if we made a conscious decision to turn that clock off? What if we, like the un-named Dr. Who person, accept life’s timeline, but decide to enjoy ourselves along the way??
There’s something to be said about letting go and handing things over to the Divine Timing of a higher power, whatever that means for you. Let go, let Universe. Let go, let God. Let go, let go. The point being, to let go of trying to control what happens next, and letting what’s next, happen… when it happens.
When Time feels like it’s not on my side and when Divine Timing feels more like the Emperors Clothes, I find myself reciting the Serenity Prayer:
(Insert whatever name you call your Higher Power here) grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.”
———
There have been days that if I got a dollar for every time I recited that prayer, I’d be able to afford my Starbucks habit.
Five of Penacle moments suck the big one. (And not in a good way). The good news is that the solution is near. Open your eyes. Take in the situation. Evaluate. Punch some pillows. Take some deep breaths. Then, purposely, slow down and take some deeper breaths. You’ve got this.
Show time whose boss!! You’ve. Got. This.
Really, you do!!!
And in case you need some examples….
It’s never too late:
1. Vera Wang – Fashion Designer. Age 40 – Designed her first wedding dress after a career in figure skating and journalism. Now one of the most recognized names in fashion.
2. Samuel L. Jackson – Actor. Age 46 – Gained fame in Pulp Fiction (1994), after years of minor roles and personal struggles.
3. Stan Lee – Comic Book Creator (Marvel). Age 43 – Co-created Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and more in the early 1960s.
4. Henry Ford – Industrialist. Age 45 – Founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and revolutionized mass production.
5. Rodney Dangerfield – Comedian. Age 46 – Got his big break on The Ed Sullivan Show after years of struggling and quitting comedy.
6. Julia Child – Chef & Author. Age 50 – Published Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961, launching her culinary fame.
7. Laura Ingalls Wilder – Author. Age 65 – Published her first Little House book in 1932, becoming a beloved literary figure.
8. Ray Kroc – McDonald’s Founder
Age 52 – Turned a small burger joint into the McDonald’s empire in 1954.
9. Momofuku Ando – Inventor of Instant Ramen. Age 48 – Created instant noodles in 1958, and Cup Noodles at age 61.
10. Betty White – Actress. Age 51 – Landed her iconic role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, then Golden Girls in her 60s–70s, and continued acting into her 90s.
11. Colonel Harland Sanders – KFC Founder. Age 62 – Franchised KFC after years of working odd jobs and running a roadside restaurant.
12. Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) – Painter. Age 78 – Began painting in her 70s due to arthritis and became a folk art sensation.
13. Harry Bernstein – Author. Age 96 – Published The Invisible Wall, a memoir, to critical acclaim in his late 90s.
14. Toni Morrison – Author. Age 39 – Published her first novel (The Bluest Eye) and won the Nobel Prize at age 62.
15. Peter Roget – Lexicographer. Age 73 – Published the first Roget’s Thesaurus in 1852.
Age isn’t a deadline—it’s a milestone. And milestones are to be celebrated!
Many of these people had winding paths, multiple careers, and setbacks before success. Sometimes your lived experience is the exact thing that makes you uniquely equipped to shine later on.
It’s your life and guess what? You’re right on time!! ❤
Sandy's Short Story Long- This is where I write. 
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