Flag Oracle #7: How to stay the course through the mess
Trust that abundance awaits when you do
Hello friends,
I confess: I’m a steadfast optimist who would prefer the world to be more like a romantic comedy than a crime drama. I want to pull the Abundance in All Directions card every day. But like any good Oracle, the Flag Oracle doesn’t always tell me what I want to hear.
On Mt. Tamalpais, there’s no denying reality when fog rolls in and trees come crashing down. The scenes chosen for the Oracle illustrate truths about life that we sometimes need to hear—and the brightly colored flags remind us that it’s OK to laugh about life’s more difficult parts.
Dappled sunlight falls on a pile of rubble from downed trees as the Construction Zone flag waves in the breeze. This, truly, is a mess—if you assume that the forest floor should be free of rubble. What if the rubble has a purpose? In a hundred years, this could be very fertile ground.
This card invites you to look at any messes in your life that need cleaning up. Alternatively, you could be presented with another’s mess. As you view any mess, imagine it as the perfect opportunity for a transformation.
Consider: Is it your mess to clean up? Perhaps you can be a messenger, or perhaps your transformation comes with a decision to move on.
If you’re the one who needs to do the cleanup work, acknowledge it as a temporary state and focus on the vision of what the situation will look like when it’s cleaned up. It feels great to wake up in a clean house, connect with someone after a tough conversation, or re-read something you’ve taken the time to edit.
The wind whips the Lakshmi Vortex flag against the fence while thick fog obscures an expansive view of the ocean, the bay, and the city. Here I considered turning around and return to my car on the protected forest path from which I had come. After some deliberation in the harsh wind, I chose to proceed with the plan by completing the loop hike via the Coastal Trail.
The wind abated just below the ridge and I walked peacefully amidst the trees and grasses through fog so thick that I could see only a few feet in front of me. Eventually, the fog lifted, and I was presented with a magnificent sight: a clear view of the moist hillside with blue skies and parting clouds against the ocean backdrop. It proved that abundance awaits if I just stay the course and proceed with my plans.
In the Night position following the Perfect Mess card, Stay the Course presents two options.
Cleaning up the mess you’re presented with is part of the “course” you’re on, knowing that abundance lies on the other side, even if you can’t see your way through the fog at the moment.
You may be presented with a mess that is not yours to clean up. Your abundance lies in ignoring the distraction—or getting help—and sticking with your plans.
Perhaps both of these things can be true at once. I’m often amazed at how saying “No” to something that’s distracting me from my true work allows other people to step in who are better suited to the task. I’m also often amazed at how cleaning things up clears the mental fog about my next steps.
May you have the strength to stay the course of your life’s truest work.
Stay the course of wellness
Hiking is such a big part of staying the course of health for me that I will leave a messy house on a Sunday afternoon just because there’s a break in the rain. Last Sunday’s hike offered the perfect opportunity to clear my head amidst clear skies and dictate a new pitch for the memoir into my phone. During a sunny day on the Coastal Trail, it’s easy to see the forest, and the trees.
Have an abundant week!
Love, Lee Ann
I can truly relate to the "Stay the Course" flag and setting: stiff sea breeze filling the flag that is hanging to the rustic fence. Fantastic imagery!
On another note: Have you considered attending Pitch-O-Rama, April 20th? I'm going to be the pitch coach that day and at the prep session, March 28th.
https://wnba-sfchapter.org/register-for-virtual-pitch-o-rama-2024/