If HINDsight Is 20-20, What's Your INsight?
Or, Change your perspective, change the world
TAROT TODAY
Ever get caught up in the would’ve-could’ve-should’ve energy that surfaces when remembering a past incident? You know, the “I should’ve said this…,” or “I could’ve done better,” or “I would’ve done it differently” commentary that your inner critic dispenses during retrospective thoughts.
Much of my hindsight badgering inflicts dismay that I didn’t know better at the time—and if I had, I could’ve done better. I get caught up in the frustration of What took so long? If I’d only known about this back then, I could have…” And much of that angst revolves around healing: my mother’s diabetes, Joe’s cancer, and other dear ones that are now on the other side.
Yet, when I sit with those thoughts and allow myself to connect with the True Voice that has the answers, this is what I get: It wasn’t time. You weren’t supposed to know (do) that then. It wasn’t your journey; it was your lesson.
And that brings us to the lesson of today’s Card for the Collective from Gabriel, the Archangel of communication: INSIGHT.
Insight is having non-visual vision; it’s being able to see what cannot be seen with the eyes. It’s understanding and, at times, knowing. It’s reading between the lines. And very often, it shows up after the fact.
Let me explain. I learned how to read a book my junior year in high school. I learned how to read in first grade, and read voraciously from that time on, but I credit Mr. Berenson, my English teacher in eleventh grade, for teaching me how to read more than the words on a page.
Up to that point, my enjoyment of reading centered on what happened—the story line, the plot. Mr. Berenson taught me the value of looking deeper, to find the metaphors represented within the various scenes of the plot. In other words, finding the meaning of what happened, or the message of the book. Learning that one skill changed my life forever.
Contemporary pop fiction is largely WYSIWYG, i.e., the value of the book is the story it tells and how it engaged you while reading. But literature, what is now called “literary fiction,” still delivers an underlying message—an insight into the human condition.
Once you start to understand that not everything is as it appears on the surface in literature or in life, you can’t “see” things any other way. Not that you have to look for hidden motives or deeper meaning in every situation, but you develop a general sense of questioning and a sensitivity to signs/symbols—which can lead to greater compassion, connection, understanding, and even acceptance of situations and people outside your “norm.”
It requires a bit of hindsight or “stepping back” to see the bigger picture of a situation in its entirety. In literature, it’s difficult to see the metaphorical imagery while reading. It’s only after you’ve read the last page and closed the book that you begin to reflect on deeper meanings.
And so it is with real life. It’s hard to see clearly when you’re in the thick of things, but “distancing” via time and thought usually brings things into better focus.
We’ve been conditioned to react in the moment. That’s nice when you get out of the way of an oncoming car while crossing the street, but rarely serves personal relationships or understanding another’s behavior. Most often, thought, reflection, or meditation improves the quality of your response and can even determine if a response is necessary at all.
Insight is having non-visual vision; it’s being able to see what cannot be seen with the eyes.
Today’s Card for The Collective is asking us to think for understanding rather than judgment. While it’s easy to condemn, it takes patience, open-mindedness, and willingness to be the observer in order to understand yourself as well as others.
This small shift in perspective can yield huge differences, especially over time. Once the change begins within you, you will see it reflected and magnified in others and the outside world.
Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I often see a popular meme on Facebook with various imagery that states: “One day I’d like to turn on the news and hear there is peace on Earth.”
World peace is always referred to in wishful, futuristic terms. Yet peace is an energy that exists in the present in the same way as electricity. It’s always been there, you simply must learn how to plug into it. When you focus on the lack of it, that’s what you see and experience. But when you think as Gandhi advised and become what you wish for (peace), you can align with the power of the energy.
Insight is the starting place for transformation—personal and global.
I’ve added the I AM DIVINE affirmation candle to help you remember where to focus your thoughts and Amethyst, stone of the Sixth (Third Eye) Chakra associated with intuition, to amplify your efforts.
I hope this helps support you on your journey. Until next time…
My best, Shelley
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Or, check the Archive for the answers you seek. I’ve been publishing this blog for three years. It’s likely you’ll find something there that can help.