I had to laugh when I heard many of the responses to the Protandim email I sent out a few weeks ago, because it was the exact same reaction I had when my friend D approached me with the idea: “Direct marketing? Are you kidding? No way!” I barely gave her a chance to tell me about the product; I had my mind closed to it from the get-go.
That response, though, didn’t set well with me. It bothered me, and I didn’t know why. It stayed with me, nagging at me, asking me to look deeper. So of course I did; I reached for my tarot cards in order to get the clarity I needed around this.
The first card I pulled, using the DruidCraft deck, was the 8 of Swords. Yes, ever since the manuscript for my tarot workbook was completed and sent off to Llewellyn Publishing (and it could be another 3 months before I know if they want it or not) I have been feeling a bit in a rut, wanting something new to focus my intention and attention on. I had no idea what that was, and the next card, the Ace of Wands, reminded me that I had asked the Universe to bring me the next project. And the Universe responded, as it usually does. Here came D, and what did I do? My Queen of Swords aspect threw that sword up and said, “No, that’s NOT how I want it to look!”
There were no major arcana in those first three cards I pulled, this wasn’t some deep lesson I had to learn. This was a gentle reminder of something I knew on every level but had simply let my “stuckness” blur; it was one of those “oh, d’uh” moments. Yes, I have them too! What was the reminder? When you ask the Universe for something, it’s usually best not to toss it back without taking a good, close look at it first.
Which the Ace of Swords encouraged me to do, only this time with a clear mind and unprejudiced eyes. I looked at D, and saw a friend of great integrity and strong ethics; I looked at the product and liked what I saw. Did the vehicle matter? No, upon this second look I realized that it didn’t. And the final card, the Knight of Cups, told me to take this project and move forward with it, focusing on what I loved about the gift (the product) and letting go of the wrapping (direct marketing). I had asked the Universe, it had answered. How simple!
Is there something in your life you are judging by the wrapping rather than the gift? Have you asked for guidance but turned from the answer because it did not take the form you wanted? Perhaps it’s time to take a second look.
When the solution is simple, God is answering. – Albert Einstein