The things to do when your done

The things to do when you’re done.



Ten of Wands

Oppression, Overload and Being Burdened by Responsibility.

The 10 of wands represent transcendent completion. You obtained the goal and now deal with the responsibilities of managing this new goal.
The wands represent the fire element. Fire fuels your inspiration, your will power, your spirit, your idealism. It is the flame that ignites ideas, spiritual search and creative projects.
The oppression that is shown in the 10 of wands can be seen as the burdens of responsibility. You are carrying a multiple load of responsibilities.It might be your own but likely you are carrying a part of the load for others as well.

We see a man in the middle of a pile of burning wands. It is Jason, the Greek hero who conquered the golden fleece. Now he can be King.He conquered long and hard for his kingdom. This was what he set out to do. By obtaining his price, he also obtained much responsibility.
Now he has to be king and rule his kingdom.
He doesn´t look overly happy. He looks bored, tired and closed in, by the flaming torches of good intentions. 
The responsibilities of ruling a kingdom are heavier then he thought.
He won, but now he has to rule and he’s exhausted by his responsibilities.

Hard work and taking on responsibility are good things, the problem arises when the word ´too´ is added. When this card falls in a reading it is a sure sign that the person is burdened by too much work, taking on too much responsibility, feeling oppressed by a load too heavy.

Since this is a wands card, they are likely to be goals or duties we strongly believe in. May they be spiritual, business, family or socially oriented. It seems that all our actions and work contribute to a worthy goal. And that might be just the problem.
How many area’s in your life have piles labelled ‘things to do when I am done’? 

If this card falls in a reading it is a sure sign of tough phase in your life.
You might have fallen in the trap of wanting to do everything that needs to be done. Pushing yourself too hard, with the excuse that your time to relax will come. May it be the weekend to come, after the task is done, the financial setback is cleared, the laundry is done. The list goes on and on.

Take a moment to consider this. Ask yourself if you have to do all that you do.

If the answer is no, drop the stuff that is not immediately important.
If you’re answer is yes, see if you can reprioritize.Can you do them differently, get some help or reorganize?
 Talk to a friend, colleque or coach if you cannot see how to diminish your load.

Be extra alert when you think there’s no way you can delegate tasks. That it is impossible to lower your work ethics, romantic expectations, cut down on expenses, etc. Especially when you feel tired, stressed, panicky or weary.

At some point in my life I was close to a burn out. I couldn’t relax anymore, just kept worrying, kept going on the course I was on. Since I was so stressed, not one creative thought came to my mind to alter my situation. I heard myself say to a friend ” I am like a camel, I’ll walk through the desert with everyone on my back on just a little water’. I was very proud of that capability to carry on and on.

Later that night I woke up from a dream about walking through the desert. I saw myself walking alone through the heat and the endless streches of sand. I had a birdsview and while I was watching the whole picture I started to wonder. Why is it such a good thing to go alone, to plough on, to carry everyone? Why am I so proud of that capability? I could see that other people where traveling in groups, spending time in an oases. I could see someone just like myself, but this person was waiting for more camels and better conditions. More water, for one.

Alll of a sudden I realised that a real strength had turned against me. It took a while though to change the behavior that comes along with the ‘camel approach’. The startling effect of reconsidering my pride in that behaviour woke me up eventually.

Nothing wrong with carrying a heavy load on your back. But not as a rule.

Lay down your burden. Take away these flaming torches of good intentions, if only for just a little while. These torches are so close, you cannot even see where you are going.

The more stressed a person is, the more they’ll likely take on too much responsibility.
Stress causes a person to react to situations instead of respond.They think that once the work is done they can relax. And since they are so tired, the option of relaxing even just a little bit, just creates more stress.
They’ll say, if I do not do it, nobody does. So it will be there waiting for me anyway. Better I do it now.

There is a fine line between reacting and responding. Reaction tends to be automatic. Responding makes you step back, analyze, think and choose.

Take a break.Relax.

Physical action helps getting out of your overactive brain.It gives you the required energy to relax. Yes, you need energy to relax. An overworked brain drains our energy.
It might be as simple as a a short walk around the neighbourhood, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or do a little dance to your favorite music.

Add a little ‘nothing’ to the things to do when your done.

Call me when you need me to lighten your load.

Blessings,

Pearl