Part of my harvest work this year is journeying through the major arcana. The question I asked myself for The Wheel of Fortune is what good things were in my life right now. As I listed the great things in my life, I reflected on how some of those were there because of deliberate decisions I made (Midwives of Change, my job, etc) and others were more about fate. For instance, I am so grateful that I have amazing children that are smart, hard working, and very kind and while I know that I had a hand in shaping them, they also grew up in a chaotic environment and could have turned out differently. Some of my friendships also seem to be in my life by fate and not deliberate decision.
This got me to thinking about how while harvesting does involve “reaping what you sow,” fate also has a large hand in what happens. In the agriculture world, a farmer could plant the right seeds at the right time, diligently care for his young plants, and still end up with a poor harvest due to weather or other factors outside of his control. Big agriculture and others like to think they’ve taken Mother Nature out of food production, but at the end of the day she still has a say in whether crops live or die.
I think it is the same in our lives. To a certain degree our lives are defined by our actions, but there is always an element of fate that we can’t control. Despite all of man’s best efforts we sometimes fail or run into obstacles we cannot control. This has been on my mind a lot lately as I reflect back on my life. There are times when I see I could have chosen differently and had a different outcome and other times where I know I made the right choice, but things happened outside of my control.
This reflection has helped me to let go of some things that happened in my life that I truly couldn’t control. It has also made me stop and pause and think about my own instincts and whether or not some situations could have been different if I would have listened to my instincts instead of just what people said.
Anyway, lots and lots to think about. Thank you Joanna Colbert Powerll and her 30 Day Seasonal eCourses for helping to spark these deep thoughts and reflections.
Cairn by Cairn 