Make It So

Hi All!

Hope your week's begun well -- I've had one of those days where you're so busy you don't notice time passing.  S'good most of the time -- except when you notice the time and say "Oh no, I wanted to do the reading this morning!"

Back to that in a minute -- wanted to tell you about something fun that I did the other day.  Way back in my ill-spent youth, I used to play in a rock 'n roll band.  Played bass, guitar, and keyboards.  We were actually pretty decent and toured around the southern states.

Played in a jazz band in college -- and playing in a band with horns is a really cool experience.  That was all many, many years ago, though.  Haven't played in a group since.

Until the other day -- found a local Meetup group of younger folk and "old farts" who get together each month to play old standards.  I was originally supposed to play trumpet, but the keyboard player didn't show so I played keys instead. 

It was a complete blast!  We played old blues, Buddy Holly, BB King, Ray Charles, Elvis, Allman Brothers, Santana, etc, etc.  Even took solo's on the organ -- something I haven't done in over 35 years!

So now I'm motivated -- there's also a jazz group with brass section, so I'm practicing on my trumpet (actually a cornet).  You may remember me talking this summer about a jazz class I took -- I'm able to apply all the jazz information to trumpet and it's really opened up my eyes (and ears).

I had forgotten how much fun this stuff is!

Enough about me -- let's jump into this week's reading.  We'll again pull two cards -- the first offers a beginning point to think about; the second offers tips on how we might best implement the first card.

Our first card is -- The Emperor.

The Emperor is about responsibilities -- he cares for his people and is happiest when they're happy.  The Emperor doesn't care about driving a fancy car -- but he does care about the roads being in good shape.  He doesn't care about having an impressive job title -- but he cares about doing a good job.  He's not impressed with empty titles -- but he is impressed by wisdom.  He doesn't care about symbolism -- but he does care about substance.  He knows that in order for those he cares about to thrive, they need the infrastructure to be effective.

An Emperor moment -- he determines what his people need to be productive, then he puts that in place so that his people can be productive.  Actions please him, not praise or platitudes.

Another Emperor moment -- determine what you need ... then get it done!  Results matter!

How can our next card help us here -- the Queen of Wands.

This Queen tends to be strong, active and confident -- if you need things done, she's the gal you want to talk to.

She has the skills you need to make things happen -- she has focus, she can work independently, she's creative in resolving problems, and she has energy to attack issues.  Most important, she KNOWS she's going to succeed -- mainly because she's done it before.

By the way -- notice that black cat sitting in front of the Queen?  That reminds us that there could be a dark side once this Queen gets going.  She can be stubborn, she can be overbearing, she can drive her subordinates crazy, she can't understand why other people don't see issues the same way she can.  Be wary and try to avoid these traps.

When we put these cards together -- what's that line in Star Trek?  "Make it so."  That's what these two cards suggest.

The Emperor suggests where we should look to find things we can improve -- that we should look closely around ourselves.  The things that matter most will be the things that affect the people we care about (including ourselves!).

Once we've located an area we can improve, the Queen suggests we get right down to "Making it so".  Be focused, be confident, be strong -- we've all been around the block ... we know what we need to do to make things happen.  Again, "Make it so"!

And that's probably a good place to start our week -- let's show ourselves how productive and effective we can really be!

I'll be back later with more -- until then, have a great week!

Woodsong