Liam Barr

The ground can shift without asking us.
Plans disappear. Our options shrink.
We may have no say in where we land.

Circumstance can lead us away from where we intended.
It can keep us there longer than imagined.
It might even leave us scarred.
None of this requires our permission.

But there are two kinds of standing.
Where we stand.
And what we stand for.

The first can be decided for us.
The second remains ours to relinquish.

I asked my tarot cards if it would work out.

One card flipped out as I shuffled.
The Ace of Swords.

Clear thought.
Decisive action.
Good fortune on my side.
Have no doubt.

I want to believe it.

The road ahead still scares me.
Nothing about it has changed.
The card reminds me I am not walking alone.

I still cannot see where it leads.
But I trust it'll work out.

The hardest periods look different in reverse.
We see what they changed in us.
What we now know we can handle.
What we no longer need to carry.

From here we call them formative.

At the time, we never saw it this way.
We were getting through the day.

What worries us this week is still unfolding.
Uncertainty alone can be enough to frighten us.

That fear cannot tell us what comes next.
Things may never take that turn.

Even if they do, this might become formative too.