Tuesday, 6 July 2021
Stress Context
It can be stressful to have a sore throat at a time when having the slightest sore throat means going and having a COVID test.
Today is short and sweet. I went to work, and during the morning, I got a sore throat (like on Day 162). The COVID ethos is to go and get tested and go home. If you stay home, it means not working while you’re sick. Taking another day off sick is stressful to me, even if I could use it.
Although reasonably sure it was from last night’s late-night usually cured with a couple of throat lozenges, I headed for the Fever Clinic for a COVID test when it still didn’t go away.
The process for the COVID test is painless, but man, those tests are so uncomfortable; at least this time, I got someone who did throat first and nose second. The comment by the lady doing the swab of “you do have a sore throat, don’t you?” followed by a jab straight to the sore bit was annoying. It wasn’t until the swab went up the nose when my eyes watered! Yuk! Fortunately, the stress of the COVID test is brief.
As per standard practice, I then went home and waited for the results.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Analysis
Carryover Cards
Three cards carried over from yesterday; Clinging to the Past moved from Goal to Influence, Moment to Moment moved from Others’ Views to Feelings, and Healing moved from Hopes & Fears to Others’ Views.
Cross
The Distant Past was all about team Sharing; we exchanged stories and managed to get all members up-to-date on the work we were doing too.
More recently (Recent Past), it seems I was projecting a team camaraderie that doesn’t exist; this is Projections.
It appears there was an unconscious Goal of Suppression on my part. When you’re suppressing parts of yourself to be accepted, you give away your power, which in turn causes stress. The card’s appearance suggests finding a healing outlet a potential ‘explosion’ (Osho, p.96).
Explosions can express themselves as pain, the phrase “the body cries the tears you don’t”, which means if you don’t find an outlet, a knot, tension or stress forms inside your body and if the knot isn’t released, the know manifests in physical form. In today’s case, a sore throat.
Nonetheless, in the Now, the sore throat allows me (Possibilities) to take some time and heal. The tension (block or influence) comes because I’m Clinging to the Past – my guess is I don’t want to take time from work, so I look like a diligent employee.
The Future Energy holds Innocence. Innocence serenely and playfully engages with the world. My world in COVID isolation is limited to the cats and fish – who are incredibly conversant once you strike a conversation away from food!
Base
My Feelings toward Possibilities is that I’ll take opportunities when they arise and from Moment to Moment.
Taking the time to take me to the Fever Clinic and go for swabbing and testing Others’ Views is that I’m taking the time to do some Healing. I’d say that was an accurate perception.
Hopes & Fears is Comparison. What if the Comparison that I am slacking off or I’m sickly? Well, that’s the fear portion. I hope that there’ll be a favourable Comparison. Yeah, I know – comparisons are unhelpful!
Finally, the Outcome on all fronts appears to be Stress. Stress taking time off and Stress staying at work, and it’s self-inflicted.
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
