Do Good, Feel Good

Hi All...

Hope you had a great weekend.  I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped (it rained a lot), but did make some progress.

Had an interesting thing happen to me last week -- was accused of plagiarizing ... MYSELF!

I've been writing some Tarot articles for an internet directory.  One of my articles was rejected -- the editors claimed I had copied part of the article (my description of the "Wheel of Fortune") from someone's website pretty much word-for-word and provided a URL to prove it.

This threw me -- I've developed my particular original descriptions over 20-plus years and had never seen the particular URL they provided.  I checked it -- and yes, the description was pretty much word-for-word the same.

I then checked the publication date of the site -- January, 2012.  I checked the earliest I had used my particular Wheel-of-Fortune description on my blog site -- and it was February, 2007!  Five years earlier!  Turns out the other site had copied from me.  (And ... if you've been receiving these readings for a while, you know that I published weekly readings on my www.woodsongtarot.com website for about 6 or 7 years before I started the blog.  So I'm sure I did it before 2007, but 2007 is the earliest I could prove.)

I sent this information to the editor -- they wrote back and said that while this instance was true, they had also found dozens of other sites using the same description, so obviously we were all using a common "purchased" description.

I checked the dates of all the sites -- and every single one was written after my February 2007 article -- and had all copied my text word-for-word!

Again showed the editor -- and he replied that it didn't matter.  Since so much plagiarizing was going on, they couldn't use any of the material -- even though I was proved to be the first and original author.  Basically, I was accused of plagiarizing myself!?!

Oh well -- I think I wrote a while back that one benefit of getting older is that you learn when you're not going to win an argument -- even though you're in the right.

So -- found a different publisher.  No more articles for these guys!

Let's jump into this week's reading (with original descriptions!)  Our first card is -- the Knight of Cups.

This is probably the one card that frustrates me the most -- mainly because it's so opposite of what I think people should do.

The Knight of Cups is a seriously emotional card.  He honestly is driven by his massive empathy for others.  When other people suffer, this Knight suffers even more because he feels so deeply for them.

Nothing wrong so far -- in fact, it's admirable that this Knight cares so much for others.  My problem with him is that this is about as far as he goes.  He cares about others -- but never gets around to doing anything about it!  He is basically paralyzed by -- and controlled by -- his emotions.  If he sees something as a problem, he likely thinks someone else should solve it.

(Note:  Look at the card.  Notice how his horse is just standing still and not moving?)

I see this attitude as a problem -- it started off okay ... the Knight took responsibility in recognizing an issue.  BUT -- he doesn't take responsibility in seeking out a solution.

I think that's the message we should receive from this Knight.  We want to feel for others -- but then we should do something about the problem.  Maybe it's reaching out to help someone who needs it, maybe it's just an encouraging word.  Maybe it's donating some time or resources to a needy cause.  Maybe it's replying to an article in a news journal -- or volunteering -- or joining a club.  Whatever we choose -- we're positioning ourselves better if we try to become part of the solution rather than just recognizing the problem.

And what happens if we do?  Let's look at our second card -- The World!

I mentioned on Friday that there are three "Happy Ending" cards in the deck -- and this is the best one of all!

And it fits perfectly right here!  How are you going to feel if you observe an injustice -- but don't do anything about it?  Probably pretty gloomy.  But -- how are you going to feel if you help someone who needs a hand -- you'll likely feel really good about yourself!

And that's "The World" -- we can best feel great about ourselves if we help others.  Doesn't mean we should quit our jobs and walk the world looking for people to help.  We need to be realistic about things -- but we can likely maintain our normal lives and still fit in places where we can use our skills, time, or resources to do good for other folks.  Volunteer at a library and read "story time" -- sew some cancer caps or fleece blankets for a children's hospital -- donate some teddy bears or toys to a women's shelter -- you don't have to seriously disrupt your normal life to make a difference for others.

And doing good makes you feel good!

More later -- off to the beach this weekend!

Woodsong