Do the Impossible

Tame the lion.

This card carries a strange image: a white-robed and flower-festooned young woman calmly and gently closing the mouth of a lion.

Surely if she had a helmet and face guard, wore thick leathers and carried a whip, she’d be more equipped for what life is asking her to do.

But she performs this task with her bare hands. The seemingly impossible is being done.

The secret of this card is that although it appears to have two figures (the woman and the lion) there is really only one. She and the lion are one.

The woman is you or me, and the lion represents our inner drives and desires, which, like a wild lion, can get out of control if we don’t pay attention to them.

She is paying attention.

Anger, jealousy, frustration, impatience — these can be roaring lions inside us if we let them rule us.

On the other hand, if we acknowledge them, notice how they make us feel, understand their origin, and find ways to move on from them, they’re no longer in charge.

This woman has character, fortitude, endurance, self-control, inner strength.

She’s faced the qualities in herself that get her nowhere and replaced them with useful traits. She’s replaced anger with acceptance; jealousy with graciousness; frustration with acceptance; impatience with patience.

Mindfulness and Strength

Most of us don’t confront lions in our lives, but we do come across difficult situations like grumpy people, overloaded in-trays, delays and disappointments. We lose something. Make a wrong turn. Stub a toe. Turn up late. Put on weight. Invest unwisely.

When these things happen, remember the woman and the lion she tamed.

Pay attention to your automatic reactions. Are they doing you any good? Are they helping you move on in life? If not, it’s time to tame them.

The message of this card is that when one has self-control — inner strength — one can handle whatever arises.

Insight

What is the key to lion taming? The key to expressing inner strength?

Paying attention to your reactions to this moment.

The next article in this series will feature the Hermit.

Foretaste: Just close your eyes.

If you missed the article on the Chariot and the power of intentions:

With love, Marlane

Thanks for reading! I hope it helps you for the rest of your life. For more articles on mindfulness visit me at https://www.marlaneainsworth.com