Day 2 of the Four Agreements Cards: Embrace Your Freedom

Today's card has a pair of birds on a branch. One is red; the other blue. They are looking opposite directions but the blue one has its wing over the shoulder of the red one. The Agreement for this card is: Don't Take Anything Personally. The card itself says 'Embrace Your Freedom'.

The reverse side message says, 'You gain a huge amount of freedom when you take nothing personally. No spell can affect you regardless of how strong it may be. If you live without fear, if you love, you will be happy with your life.'

The first thing which drew my attention is the reference to a spell. Do they mean magic spell? Perhaps by spell, the meaning is one of a time period as in "I'm going to sit here for a spell." or "That illness took her down for a spell." I think this is the better explanation for a life situation, though I suppose the magic element could be important for some folks, just not me.

So, not taking things personally is hard. How do you truly do that when you feel anger or hurt? The stinging stuff stays with you. It's easy to say, "I am not going to take that thing personally." However, to truly mean it, you have to let go of the pain and the resentment. I doubt it means we should close ourselves off from feeling anything. That would lead to a hollow existence. We do need to feel it, experience it, and face it so we can let it go. It's the facing it that trips me up. Not facing it means we're comfortable with our little angry cave we've crawled into. Facing it means you cannot deny your unpleasant feelings. It means you must accept your role in the creation of the spell, whether that means turning a blind eye to someone's hurtful nature or finding some sense of purpose in eternally being a victim of hurtful words or actions. Facing it means being willing to open yourself to rejection and fearfulness.

That facing it is a leap of faith. Faith that you will find love; let yourself be happy, reach out to someone to talk with or just share a hug. Yeah, that sounds all touchy-feely. So be it. Needing others isn't a weakness; it brings you comfort and strength.

Today, I've mulled over the things I've taken personally and realized there are many. Some are so old, they are silly now. I've let those go. Some I've already freed myself from by cutting harmful people from my life. I know I can't change those people. Why should I spend energy and time on them by trying? I can't stop my mind from revisiting the old hurts but I can say honestly now that they don't matter. There are still a few I must face but I already feel lighter.

I like the birds on the artwork of this card. Perhaps the two of them in the midst of a rain storm would be a better choice.