Humor, Fear + Joy

I try. I fail. What piece of me still laughs when I see something bad happen like a kid running to dive into the water but they trip on the pier. I have to admit that…

Today’s card is from my ongoing Tangled Tarot project. As this came to life for me, I could already see the card it would be. With the swoops and swirls, it made me (and others) think of a ship.Zentangle050

Here is the Three of Wands–the quintessential card of wait and see. What you’ve sent out will return but you may not get what you expect. You will need to make sure you have sent out as much good as you expect back.

That’s not always easy in our negativity-driven world. Oh, don’t get me wrong, y’all. There are those who fight for a positive outlook. There are those who are careful not to share mean things–even funny mean things.

I try. I fail. What piece of me still laughs when I see something bad happen like a kid running to dive into the water but they trip on the pier. I have to admit that I’m hard on myself there. I force myself to think about the pain and the embarrassment. I make myself become that person.

Yeah, the whole mile in the moccasins thing.

I don’t think we will slide our pendulum from negativity-based thinking to positivity in day. Maybe not even in a year.

But I believe wholeheartedly that I can gather up a tribe of people who share that belief.

That there can be funny, humorous things that don’t involve mocking someone’s pain. That don’t involve shaming someone. That don’t use religious or racial slams to create a laugh. Here’s a test for you. Take a religious or racial joke. Remove the race and religion from it. Is it still funny? No? Then replace it with your race or your religion. Still not funny? What does that mean to you?

Politics? Yeah, about that…I have to work a lot harder there because I get angry. More than angry, I get scared. And then I lash out in fear.

[Tweet “No, it isn’t okay because others do it too. That’s actually one of the best reasons not to do it.”]

Their level and all that.

So from this Three of Wands energy, I will send out boatloads of positive thinking. I will share funny things that don’t put another person down or call them a name. I will channel my fear into joy. I will remain hopeful.

Your journal prompt today is “What is something I find funny that is actually hurtful? How can I change that?”

Three of Wands, Tangled Tarot, not published, Arwen Lynch

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

And if you are a writer, let Tarot help you plot, write and finish your book.