overcoming obstacles

What a beautiful, powerful card that's encouraging you to keep stepping forward, no matter what is standing in your way, no matter what the obstacle might be. Don't let it stop you from attaining your dreams, from reaching your goals.

If we look at the picture on the card, it's really quite obvious to see what the obstacle is - it's this huge rock. But look at more than that on the card. Look at where you've been walking. It's been a narrow cliff path which can be scary and frightening. It feels like you've really taken a risk and you're walking this path and, all of a sudden, there's this huge obstacle in your way.

However, stuck into this obstacle is this beautiful sword, this precious metal sword, this really expensive item. So what does that mean?

Could it be that you want to stop at this rock and try, somwehow, to extract that shiny, new object?

Is there an obstacle in your path and, stuck in that obstacle, there's something shiny, something attractive that is actually removing your vision from the lush fields ahead of you? Is it distracting? Is this obstacle in your way, rather than being an obstacle that's encouraging you to walk round it or over it or find a way past it, it's actually got something in it that is distracting you?

And if you were to come upon this rock with the sword stuck inside, do you think it's going to be easy to get that sword out of that rock? The sword looks like it's well and truly stuck inside this rock. So, you could be standing for ages and ages and ages trying to pull this sword, trying to get this distraction that's been placed in your path. And eventually you might find that you are pulling and pulling so hard that either the rock falls off the cliff path or you fall off the cliff path because you lose your grip, you slip, and you fall.

So don't let an obstacle in your path distract you from your path. That's our first message today.

Don't let a shiny new object stand in your way of your dreams, of your desires, of your goals. Don't let it stop you in your tracks of achieving what really is important to you because it's shiny and bright and dazzling you. You want to find a way to keep moving forward.

How I like to see this sword in this rock is, this rock is standing in a really narrow path and it's completely and utterly blocking the way. And it's going to be really hard to get past this obstacle to get to the other side of, again, the continued narrow path which, for me, is saying you have been taking a risk in your life. Don't let this obstacle stop you. You've taken this risk and you will be rewarded whenever you keep going.

For me, this sword isn't distracting me, this sword is helping me to get past this obstacle. It's almost acting like a handle, like a secure handle that I can hold on to, to give me stability, to give me assurance that I can clamber between the sword and the cliff face, not the cliff edge but between the sword and cliff face. And squeeze in so I can get to the other side of the path. It's not going to stop my way. The dazzling new object is not distacting me. I'm actually using it so I can continue on on my journey.

Usually for me, green, as we see so much green here on the card, is the colour of health and healing. But in this card, for me, it's not saying strictly health and healing because I'm thinking of th lush green fields in the distance. And whenever something is healthy and beautiful and fresh and renewed, it's green.

So it's saying to me, you have chosen this path. It's not been an easy path. You've even come across obstacles in the way but you've found a way over those obstacles. You haven't been distracted from them. They haven't stopped you in your tracks. You can overcome anything and you will be rewarded, as a result, with these lush green pastures, by achieving your goals, by achieveing your ambitions, by achieving your dreams.

The other thing I want to talk to you about on this card is the little bird that's just sitting here on the branch, just watching everything that's going on as you approach this rock. The bird does not see the rock as an obstacle because birds can fly. You want to take from that bird, the essence of that bird. When a bird flies, it feels free. When you overcome this obstacle, you will feel so much freer. You will have achieved something big in your life.

When birds fly up into the sky, they can see a bigger picture, they can see things from a higher perspective. And the bird, here, is inviting you to look at this obstacle from a higher perspective, from a different perspective. Dan't look at it as an obstacle in your path that you do not know how to get round. It has this sword and you might think that if you can, at least, extract the sword, at least you might get something out of walking this path.

No. Look at it from a different perspective.

That sword gives you something strong to hold on to, it gives you stability to climb over the rock so you can get to the other side, to your dreams, ambitions, goals.

So, lovely soul, this card is encouraging you to keep walking forward.

You may have chosen a difficult path but you will be rewarded.

Don't let anything stand in your way, whether it's a challenge, whether it's a person, whether it's a limiting belief or the monkey mind in your head. Don't let anything stand in your way of you reaching your goals, your ambitions and your dreams. Because, lovely soul, you can overcome anything.

Reference: This beautiful card is from The Sacred Traveler Oracle Deck by Denise Linn, artwork by Jesse Reisch