A long time ago, I was making two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Four slices of bread laid out in a row, happily going about my business.
My kid surveyed my progress, and was quite bothered. She accused me of being intentionally difficult.
Evidently, when you lay the bread out in a row, you’re not supposed to put peanut butter on different sides for each sandwich. You’re supposed to put the peanut butter either all on the left pieces of bread or on the right, so an alternating pattern of peanut butter and jelly is maintained during the sandwich construction.
Somehow, this practice is deemed necessary to maintain a civilized society. Or something like that…
She thinks I live for chaos. I don’t know that I could argue with that conclusion convincingly. But she was taken aback to learn that in this case, I did have a reason for my choice.
See, the bread had sizable holes. So I strategically placed peanut butter over the largest holes to minimize jelly leakage. This was a more important objective than conforming. She saw me doing something “wrong” just to be different. I saw less potential for sporting jelly stains the rest of the day.
The point of this silly little story is that even people that know you very well cannot always comprehend exactly why you do what you do, in the way you do it. But that’s okay.
Nobody needs to get you here. Make your sandwiches however you want next week and forget the peanut (butter) gallery.
Next Week in Tarot
This week, the Four of Pentacles provides the general outlook, with advice coming in as the Hierophant reversed and clarified by the Eight of Pentacles. These cards are from the familiar Radiant Rider-Waite deck.
With a Four of Pentacles forecast, I’d expect to see plenty of stabilizing in general, or maybe “attempts to stabilize” would be more accurate in some cases. This doesn’t mean people still won’t be anxious, however. Far from it. The Four of Pentacles often heralds either general anxiety or feelings of insecurity, especially financial. (Look at how tightly he guards those Pentacles).
But anxious or not, you can expect to make it through the week just fine.
In terms of advice, it’s easy to follow: Do what works for you, period. Take it one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. It’s not all about the long term right now. It’s about making it through the moment, doing what you need to do and working your way through.
In particular, don’t bother about what “normal” people would accomplish what you’ve got to accomplish. This information is not applicable, so no cases of the guilties if you don’t live up to perceived societal expectations.
If it works for YOU, then it’s a good plan. I’m of a mind that’s always true, but I suspect others may also join me in that conclusion during the week.
Are you able to “just do you?”
Contact me for a personal session if you’d like some help pulling together your own, unique plan.