THE TOWER

Change is inevitable. Sometimes we can see it coming and can prepare for whatever road we choose to travel on. Sometimes it is like a bolt of lightning, piercing the night of our soul. I have read Tarot Cards for the past 30 plus years. It affords me a glimpse into the possibility of change and where it may come from, sometimes. There are moments when doing a reading that a certain card pops up and I sit there with a slight pang of dread looking at it.

When I was learning about the Tarot and how to read the cards, I was told by a Master that this card was the most powerful in the deck. I thought maybe the Death or the Devil cards would be the most powerful, given their worldly connotations. But when I had the card and what represents explained, I learned the power it holds.

I clearly remember the first time I got this card. A cold shiver went down my spine. I knew it was inevitable, but not in the context of its arrival. You see, as each card has its own representation, it also has a meaning in relation to the other cards in the reading. In learning how to read the cards, I also learned how our past plays an integral part in our present and future choices and actions. Seeing this play out in a visual representation is pretty amazing!

This creates a need to practice mindfulness in reading the cards and an ability to be open to what the cards are saying. It’s like a map for the road you’re on in life. You can choose to travel on the difficult and rocky road that will bring happiness and fulfillment later, or travel on the smooth and pretty road that really takes us nowhere in particular. I like to call this ‘The Road of Avoidance.’

So, going back to that card, The Tower. We sometimes choose to remain in a safe and comfortable spot (remember the greatest fear anyone has is the fear of change?), sometimes that comfortable spot is in the moment uncomfortable, but changing that lifestyle is terrifying, it becomes comfortable in its discomfort… This is where the Tower card shows up. This is how the Tower card was explained to me: when you have not worked on or moved past a difficult part of your life when you have chosen to remain stagnant and choose to not grow, the Tower card comes to you. The tower pictured is one that has been hit by lightning and the roof has been blown off. This represents your life. We spend time after a tough and growing part of our life building up the walls and putting a roof on our life. Secure with home and work, secure in a relationship, we go about our daily life. But growth is always presenting itself, often as a difficult situation.

When we choose to ignore the signs of growth and stuff the difficult situation away for another day, we hope to remain safe in the ‘life house’ we had built. But eventually (sooner than later) the Tower card (metaphorically) comes to play (literally). The problem that we had stuffed, or gently put aside rears its ugly head and we end up with no other choice but to deal with it and hopefully grow from it. I haven’t had the Tower in a reading in many years, so to see it speaks volumes about my journey. I have put off some recent projects and chose to try to remain in a field that I have had not much joy in. Yes, I help people and get the immediate happiness from that, but this is different.

This is bigger than me. These words are important and also the many millions of words that will inevitably follow. I seek out a larger audience. I seek to turn my experience into something that can be seen and read. My blog is a good starting point. My internet marketing business is another. But I know in order to get my voice out I need to be more vocal (literally). And that is the other greatest fear most people have; public speaking. Jerry Seinfeld once spoke of this. A study found that the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death. So, the man delivering the eulogy at a funeral is in worse shape than the man in the coffin!