Ah, the World card—usually the last card in the deck and therefore the symbol of ultimate accomplishment in the tarot. While this successful archetype does communicate a sense of peace, it’s perhaps kind of funny to see in relation to mindfulness. The reason I say this is because the practice of mindfulness often teaches us that the goal isn’t to ‘get anywhere’, but rather to simply pay attention to the process. And that’s because we spend so much of our existence striving to get from one moment to the next that we can easily become disconnected to ourselves and caught up in the rat race. Mindful living tempers this pace by swinging our inner pendulum to the opposite side of the spectrum, so that we can eventually find balance in the centre.
However, I do think this mindful message is indeed about ‘finishing’ and I’ll explain why. I remember back in 2014, I enrolled in a mindfulness program that helped me through one of the most trying times of my life. As our group of ten moved deeper through the course, the instructors talked about the importance of completing simple daily chores like making our bed or doing a load of laundry, and we were even given a ‘daily tasks’ journal to complete, outlining what we did and noticing how it made us feel when we finished something. At that time in my life, there were days where it was hard to get out of bed and I thought this was the silliest suggestion for people dealing with anxiety and depression. But, I was willing to give it a try, and happily found out that it was one of the greatest contributors to getting me well. Doing those chores brought me out of my head and into my body and being able to check off micro goals from my to-do list gave me a sense of empowerment and instantly lifted my mood.
And I believe that this is the mindful wisdom present in the World card. It’s not about running a marathon or earning a Masters Degree, but rather doing whatever brings you a sense of completion. So if you’re feeling funky as of late (who isn’t during the 2020 pandemic?) take note and pat yourself on the back for every accomplished task—no matter how big or small.