Don’t fear the Postman

In the RWS tarot deck, the Six of Swords depicts a family making a trip across water to new land. They are moving away from turbulence into calmer waters. While this can imply a journey from one geographical location to another, it is even more likely that it is a journey of the heart, mind and/or spirit from a troubled time or situations into more peaceful one.

I’ve been feeling kind of funky over the last few days. This is partly due to having a cold /flu ailment, and partly because there was a lot of harsh energy around yesterday’s new moon, which I felt coming on most of the weekend. It brought up a fair bit of “negative” emotion, and a little energy went into managing that emotion. Just because you have a feeling doesn’t mean you have to act on it. Yes, I know that’s easier said than done, but it’s the truth.

Instead of unleashing negative emotions like a snarling tiger, I find it more useful to breathe through them and process them internally. They will come and, if you let them pass through, they will go, leaving you free to feel something a bit more pleasant.  But you do have to let yourself feel those emotions, acknowledge them, process them, let them deliver their message and move on.

I say “negative” emotions, to get the idea across, but they are not actually negative, they are what they are – anger, sadness, frustration, stress, etc. We sometimes think of these as being “bad” emotions, but that makes as much sense as demonizing the postman because he puts bills in the letter box. No matter how much you judge the postman, the bills will still come. And if you don’t pay the bills, they will begin to multiply.

That’s not such a bad analogy for emotions. Judging them doesn’t make them stop. It often has the opposite effect and multiplies the impact – now you have something else to feel bad about. If you ignore them they don’t go away. They just keep coming at regular intervals, increasing their efforts to get your attention, maybe bringing reinforcements with them. So now you have even more to deal with.  Eventually the final bill comes due, so to speak, and you haven’t got it in you to pay up.

Emotions, all emotions, are delivering messages to you. If you are happy, for example, you are being told that right here, right now, life is good and all is well. If you are feeling frustrated, you are being told that something is not working and needs to be dealt with. That’s actually a good thing, getting that information.

What happens next depends on whether you have emotions or they have you. What I mean is, do you let your emotions drag you on whatever theme park roller coaster they are in the humour for, or can you say to yourself “Hang on. This is what I feel, let’s stop and look at what it means”. And your emotions may be tugging at you like small, wilful children, but you don’t have to give in.  They’re your emotions. Feel them, listen to them, respect them, find out what they want and what their needs are. You don’t have to join in with their tantrums. Give yourself a time out if needed.

This won’t stop you having those emotions, but the more you practice this, the more quickly they will leave you in peace.

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