My Self-Improvement Task

So I have been on a bit of a self-improvement kick lately, or at least trying to because...well, improving yourself is always good, and when things get to a certain point...it becomes rather necessary as well. I thought I'd draw a card with the question in mind of what is one specific thing I should focus on - one specific self-improvement themed task.

The answer was a bit of a surprise - the Universe, you say? But isn't that a card of completion, of success, fulfillment, attainment and all of that? Well yes, but here again we have some of the nuances of the Thoth deck that I just absolutely love - it isn't a woman standing or dancing a bit inside a wreath of laurels. It's a woman engaged in a passionate dance with a SNAKE. The snake, for life and death, beginnings and ends, the end is the beginning, beginning is an end of something else, and they dance, joyfully. End things that need to be ended, start things that need to be started. Give yourself credit for the things you have already accomplished, and set new goals for yourself, reasonable small goals and pipe-dreamy big goals, and work for them.

And yes, most importantly, find joy in the world, in life. No matter what the circumstances are, you can always find something positive to focus on a bit if you try: the colors of spring, new things blooming up; a favorite piece of music; the art or poetry or writing that you can create; for some people, a dance; sensual things and intellectual things, whatever, anything. It's so easy to focus on the negative - pessimism, fatalism, nitpicky perfectionism - and in doing so its easy to lose perspective and more importantly, terribly difficult to motivate yourself to improve things. After all if you are terrible, if other people are horrid, if the world is such a miserable place, what is the point of trying? On the other hand, if you can find things, even small things, that give you pleasure, then you can start trying to grasp your way up, achieve even more. Create things, finish things, start new things - the world is so full of possibilities and adventures, regardless of your circumstances, of your age, of complications and obstacles and personal difficulties. The challenge is very much in outlook, in being willing to see and engage with them: to not let yourself or anyone else limit you.