Perfect Reflection

Still waters run deep. They also reflect.

Today, I sit here, trying to get this blog started. I am humbled by the Universe once again. No matter how many times I’ve tried to be right about this one thing, I’ve been wrong.

Let me back up…

When I first had the idea to write A Fool’s Journey, I had a decent knowledge of the Tarot. Some cards I knew well, others I knew… intellectually. Since then, I have grown to know many of them intimately. However, there is still a card that for years has eluded my deeper understanding. The card in question is the Four of Cups. In a word, it is about feelings of discontent. It could be related to any of the following: boredom, dissatisfaction, disappointment, a rut, lacking motivation, lacking interest. It is often when we realize that something did not measure up to what we wanted.

As a Cups card, it is about feelings foremost. It is often about a specific relationship. Four is the number of stability. In this case, it indicates stagnation.

Let’s look at the card; the picture has meaning too. Notice that there is, in fact, four cups and a lack of movement is certainly implied. But what’s with that hand and the cloud?

Another meaning of this card is that something is being offered, but ignored. The man does not see the cup, or refuses to look at it. He is not accepting what is being offered. That man represents us!

And this is what has thrown me all of these years. Whenever this card had come up, I was certainly dissatisfied, but in all cases I can think of, I was offering something that was not being received by another. Yet whenever I asked spirit for clarification, they always (and clearly) said it was me. I was the one refusing the gift being offered! I would say, “No way! I’m the one offering!” but they did not budge.

So for years now, I would simply shake my head whenever the Four of Cups appeared. In readings, people would point to it and say, “What does that one mean?” and I would shrug my shoulders. I would tell them what I know, then say, “but it’s a hard one to pin down. I don’t really know what it’s saying.”

And then this week, all of that changed.

Still waters run deep. They also reflect. The Four of Cups represents still waters. Not the clear waters of a clean lake, but the murky waters of a cesspool. The emotions that are stuck don’t feel good. And the lack of movement is “all your own fault!” (That’s me talking to me.)

OK, that’s a bit rough. It’s all our own responsibility.

The Universe is more perfect than we want to admit. If we are having feelings of discontent, than surely we created it somehow. And if we’re offering something to another that is not being accepted, than surely we’ve created that too. And while still waters run deep, they also reflect.

So here’s the underlying message – as spoken by the Universe itself (or by one of its representatives):

Dear one. Whenever you ask of me, my answer is always the same. “Yes.” It is never, “No”, never “Not until you learn” and certainly not “Only when you deserve it.” You do not need to earn my love or my gifts. They are yours for the taking, whenever you choose them.

However, though my answer be yes, do not assume who will be the one to deliver it. Doubt not that when you are not receiving, it is simply that: you not receiving. My gifts are always offered. What you do not have is what you have not accepted from me. What you are lacking, is what you are not choosing to see.

If you say to me, “Dear Universe, please bring me someone who loves and supports me” rest assured that he or she has already been sent your way. S/he is in front of you right now. S/he is within reach. If you can’t see him or her, then open your eyes.

But heed me when I say that you must stop looking at the wrong cups. If you are in a relationship that is dissatisfying to you, and you ask for contentment, it may come in a different cup. Most often, the issue is simply that you are staring at the wrong one. I told you I would bring you what you asked for; I didn’t tell you in which cup you would find it.

So if the cup you are entranced with is not reflecting what you want to see, then you must look away from it. You must choose another cup. There are an infinity of cups out there – or nearly so. They will all reflect some aspect of you – or some created illusion. Look wisely. Do not assume that any reflection is true. Decide what you wish about each one.

You are the decider. You are the all powerful one that has the ability to enrich your life, right here, right now, or wait some more. As we often say, “You have all the time in the world, but no reason to wait.” If you can’t stop looking into those discolored waters, then look some more. See them for what they are. Convince yourself what is there and what is not. Listen to all of the errant voices in your head if you must, and then, when you’ve had enough, choose again. Listen to my voice. Listen to your heart.

Look directly into a cup and see to its core. If you cannot see all the way through the layers of water, assume not what is there. You needn’t guess. You needn’t wait. You needn’t give anyone a chance. You simply have the option to choose or not the gifts offered.

The perfect reflection of the Four of Cups is simply this: if you are not being received in the way you wish, then you are not receiving the gift allotted to you. You are simply choosing the wrong cup.

The more you are able to accept love where it is offered, and how it is offered, the more you will be flooded with love from all directions.

We say unto you this: Feel free to ask from any cup what you wish. If you seek to be loved in a particular way by a particular one, ask, but know that it is their prerogative to say no.

For a more efficient method of manifestation, ask only me! Make all of your requests unto me knowing that my answer is always yes. But to receive the gifts that I offer in return, you must look for the cup that I deliver to you. It might not be where you’re looking. In fact, when the Four of Cups appears, that’s exactly the message.

There is nothing wrong with you, nothing you need to learn, no karma you need to clear, no feat you need to surpass. You simply must look to the cup that is offered, and turn away from those that are not.

The truth is: All cups before you hold gifts. Even the ones that refuse to give you what you ask of them. The key is simply to see the gift that is offered. It may not be as easy as you think, but it needn’t be difficult either.

The Perfection of the Universe is simple. Every request is answered, and every cup has the free will to deliver a gift of their choosing. The Universe will handle all of the directing. Do only as you desire. Give only that which you choose to give. Accept what is given freely.

In a perfect world, everyone gives only as they choose, and receives as much as they choose. That’s already happening – right here – right now. The difference between what you see, and what is possible, is all in the choosing!