Truth is an Orange

Do you want to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Make that decision first & often, then let the Universe take you on the journey. It could be gentle, if you let it. It will give you as much companionship on that journey as you desire, if you let it.

Intermittently, I like to share excerpts from my novels. This one is from Chapter 8 in my second novel: Scribe to the Pantheon of Rome. As you read this today, consider oranges as pieces of truth, and trees as the places you look for truth.

The Five and the Three

We now wish to take some time to discuss a variation of eight that you find yourself in. To begin, fetch your Tarot deck and turn over the top card. Tell us what you find there.

The top card is the Eight of Cups.

Describe it to us.

In the foreground, eight cups are stacked together. Further back can be seen a man or a woman walking away from them. In the distance, we see a rocky horizon and an old moon suspended in the sky.

Do you remember what this card means?

I believe it is about letting go.

Exactly. The old moon indicates the end of a cycle—in this case, one that did not seemingly produce desired results.

Notice that when we write the number eight in Roman notation: VIII, it is always five and three. The artist reflects this subtly within the stacks—five cups on the left and three on the right. We needn’t remind you of the challenges that five brings. And yet, through the process of letting go, one is able to create anew, and that is the three.

Let us for a moment compare romantic love to an orange—its juice deliciously sweet, its pulp appetizing. The color is bright, vibrant, cheerful, and alive. There’s no better way to start your day. The pleasure of romantic love is the single most desired experience on your planet. More than half of all humans crave it, while the others pray that it will not leave their side.

Yet, when your relationships do not go the way you had hoped, is it not like getting a lemon instead of an orange? What happens when you squeeze a lemon? Will not even the slightest sip of its juice cause you to grimace? Hasn’t all of the sweetness been replaced by the sour?

So one might say that the five is when life gave you a lemon. Pray as you might, it will never turn orange. Does this mean that you are destined to never experience an orange? Does it mean that the orange is forbidden fruit?

No! It simply means that this time around, you picked a lemon—and a lemon is a lemon and will never be an orange. Your experience is what it is and it only takes one taste to know the difference between the lemon and the orange.

We say choose again! Pick another fruit and taste again. But know that picking from the same tree will not correct your mistake. Lemons grow on lemon trees. If the love that you seek is likened to an orange, then you must find a tree that can produce it. To find one, you must leave the lemon tree and look for another.

And thus comes the Eight of Cups. It is the moment you stop wishing the lemon tree would produce oranges. You’ve tried enough times and picked enough fruit. You have now accepted the lemon tree for what it is; by letting it go you are able to move on.

Take note of the words we use. We didn’t say to let it ‘be’. We said to let it ‘go’. When you let something go, you let it pass you by. You let it move into your past. And that’s when things begin to flow.

The Journey of the Fool always begins from where you are. It says nothing about how you got there or how long it took you. It matters not whether you traveled the high road or trudged the low road; sped through the direct route or meandered the detour; whether you enjoyed the ride or fretted the whole way. Your journey is from here forward, from now forward. If it consoles you to think of it this way, consider all that occurred before to be practice and preparation for the journey ahead. The past is nothing but a dream. You have awakened; a new day beckons.

Lemon trees will show up in your life, but you needn’t pick from them. Orange trees will show up too! However, if your hands are full of lemons, you will not be able to reach for an orange. Let go of the lemon trees and let go of your lemons. Just because you picked them, doesn’t mean you need to carry them ever more. Lighten your load; free your hands; learn from your past and pick with greater care the next time.

And by all means, keep the lemon juice out of your eyes! You have cried enough. Once you see that the fruit you picked is a lemon, look elsewhere.