Today’s soul message comes through with two cards that we have already pulled in the last few weeks. One is from when I very first started writing these posts and the other is actually from a few days ago. They are about success and thought. “The measure of my success is my joy” and “Physical well-being is only one good thought away.” When I work with a deck like this and something like this happens, where the cards pulled are familiar from recent days, I like to see what they have to say together. And this one is interesting.
First we have the issue of success. Success measured by our level of joy is a more true sign of our success than when we are looking for measure in the material world (how much money do I have, what kind of car do I drive, how do I own, etc). When I think of this card and the idea of not looking for success in material things I’m always reminded of the line from the movie Fight Club, “The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.” When you have nothing in the physical work to show off your success it’s a little easier, I think, to find success in joy. The trappings of the physical get in the way sometimes.
And when it comes to our thoughts and our physical well-being, again we’re reminded of the way we feel when we’re sick and we focus more on how sick we feel rather than wanting to feel better. Rather than focusing on the things that we don’t want and that make up uncomfortable physically, work on focusing on the positive things. It’s like the idea of trying to make yourself feel warm when you’re standing outside in the dead of winter without a jacket. Rather than saying “I’m so cold…I’ve never been so cold in my life,” we can try and thing “I am as warm as my body needs to be comfortable. I can feel the warmth of the sun around my body.” Yes, this is going to mean you may need to imagine what it feels like to be standing in the rays of the warm sun on a summer day, but this is part of what we do with visualization and magick; we imagine it into being.
So with these cards together I come to a few conclusions. First the reinforcement of the idea that your thoughts are what will lead you to success. Think it, be it. Dream it, live it. Secondly, I feel that there is a message here about how we feel physically can impact our success. If you’re tired all the time it’s going to be hard to find joy in your success. Many people work themselves to the point of exhaustion and burnout because that’s just what they’re told they have to do to succeed. If you’re doing this, do you find joy in that? Do you feel your physical well-being is benefiting? Bring these two aspects into balance. Find joy and success in your life by keeping your thoughts on track and working with your physical well-being together. If you’re working so hard that you feel like you’re going to pass out at the your desk each night, you’re not doing things right. You’re not honoring your body and you’re not honoring your successes because how can you feel joy when you’re burned out to that extent.
In other words…take a vacation. Or at the very least a long weekend. Get some rest and rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit regularly. You’ll feel more joy, see more success, and have a better sense of physical well-being in the end.