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The Strength card represents our ability to withstand hardships and adversity.
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This is also known as resilience.
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But there are some misconceptions such as whether people are born more
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resilient or if this would prevent us from painful experiences in the future.
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Let's talk about what it actually means in this episode.
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Thank you for tuning in to an episode of Merwin's Philosophy, where I explore
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the connection between spirituality and psychology and how that coincides
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with social issues we face today.
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Now here's the show.
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Welcome to another episode of the Life Journey series, the series in
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this podcast where I look at each card within the practice of tarot,
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specifically the major arcana.
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And related to psychological terms that most of us understand.
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Now in the last episode, I looked at the chariot card, which represents a certain
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path that we're taking in our life.
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And most times it shows up when we're trying to make a certain transition
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in our life or may need to rethink certain decisions that we've made.
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Now, let's talk specifically about the strength card and what that means
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when it can show up in our life.
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So, in part one, we'll talk more specifically about the strength
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card, the more spiritual side of it.
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In part two, we'll talk about what it actually means, more about resilience.
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And in part three, I'll tie it all together and come up with my own personal
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theories when we talk about resilience and what it means in our culture and society.
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So let's go ahead with part one.
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Tarot is a more spiritual practice in the realm of cardomancy and divination.
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And within that practice, the strength card shows a woman and
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most likely a lion or some other animal that symbolizes bravery.
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What it means is that every one of us has some kind of animalistic urges
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within us, or in other words, we have an emotional side to us that is sometimes
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irrational and can be detrimental if we're not aware of our actions and thoughts.
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So whenever we see this in a spread, upright can signal confidence,
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resilience, even patience.
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And not only represents our inner strength and courage, but
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also our emotional regulation.
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We're able to process our emotions and display them in a stable way, and
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it's very important for us to consider our emotions and not push them aside,
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as I've said in other episodes, but instead choose actions that honor them.
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This could be like walking away from a problem instead of blowing up, or
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counting five breathing instead of, again, making the situation worse.
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Now whenever we see this card reversed in a reading, this can symbol some
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kind of emotional instability, or something's out of balance.
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We may be feeling volatile and insecure or even anxious.
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This could be due to some type of destructive behavior patterns, limiting
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beliefs, old fears, or even apathy.
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There is some type of lack of self awareness and even emotional intelligence,
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which I'll talk more in part two about.
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It's a time where we need to examine our thoughts and triggers as well as learn new
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behaviors for processing our emotions and try to get back to that emotional balance.
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Now I've compared specific cards to each other in other episodes and I feel like
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it's best to do that in this episode.
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And the three cards I want to compare it to is the Emperor, the Empress,
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and the Lovers because I feel like there are some common stressors that
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we see in our everyday life that may fall in line with the Strength card.
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So in episode 6, we talked about the Emperor, and this is about our
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sense of autonomy and empowerment.
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Now couple that with the Strength card and it could symbol this sense
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of resilience, courage, confidence, and tremendous willpower to not
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only overcome any challenges we're facing, but also an ability to make
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decisions that are beneficial for us.
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Now, on the other hand, it can also represent a sense of insecurity and
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powerlessness that you may be feeling.
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And in Episode 5, we talked about the Empress, which is about our sense of
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self care and with the Strength card that can symbolize that emotional
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balance that I'm talking about.
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We're able to adequately deal with any negative experiences
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we're facing and still remain resilient and emotionally stable.
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Of course, when these cards are reversed, it can mean that, again,
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we're feeling some type of insecurity.
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We're feeling volatile.
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Our emotions don't feel stable.
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Perhaps we feel like our life is spinning out of control
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and we're not sure what to do.
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We may be acting out of character because of this.
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Instead of taking steps to get back to a healthy balance and face these
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challenges with a better mindset.
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And then in episodes 8 and 9, I talked about the Lovers.
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And this card is all about our understanding of love and
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how it shows up in our life.
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This is a major stressor for a lot of people, especially those dealing with some
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type of loneliness or past trauma related to romantic or familial relationships.
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Now, seeing both of these cards upright may mean that you have a deep
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understanding of your relationships and are able to navigate any issues
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or disagreements that may arise between you and the other people.
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However, this isn't everyone's story.
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And most people, like I said, seem to struggle with navigating
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their relationships with understanding and confidence.
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Some people put their needs last and act out of desperation, others
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push the other person away with negative or even toxic behaviors.
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But let's go on to part two specifically about the strength card.
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The American Psychology Association defines resilience
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as "the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult
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or challenging life experiences".
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Basically, this is the ability to process our emotions during these challenging
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moments and develop behaviors that will help us instead of cause more distress.
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Now most times, common stressors will be some kind of loss, such as a
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breakup or death of a loved one, but it can also be any sudden changes.
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Such as an accident or any event that forces us to make changes
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and transitions in our life.
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Many of these stressors we've already talked about starting all the way back
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from the first episode with the Fool card.
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Whenever we're making a change, whether because of external forces or voluntarily,
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we can encounter challenges and obstacles that can temporarily stop us.
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Now, resilience does not mean we will never encounter painful experiences.
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That's impossible.
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The longer we keep living, the more we'll encounter challenges along the way.
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These challenges could be benign or traumatic.
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However, resilience allows us to build skills and responses that will
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ease the pain during those moments.
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And in the process, we're able to learn more about ourselves and gain
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a better understanding of life.
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The American Psychology Association has an article that I'll link
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in my show notes, that has four components for building resilience.
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So let's go ahead and start with that.
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The first one is building connections.
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And this means connecting with empathetic and supportive people who
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can help you during a challenging moment and validate your feelings.
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This can be a family member, friends, or by joining a group.
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This connection can help you feel like you're not alone as isolation
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can keep us stuck in pain and make us feel hopeless over time.
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Again, I'll add emphasis on people that are kind and empathetic and supportive
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and will validate your feelings.
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Not everyone in your life will fill this role and it's important for us
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to realize which people those are.
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At the very least, a therapist may be the main one who can fill
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this role for you, but I know that comes with a financial cost.
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Moving on to the second one, fostering wellness.
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This is looking at self care, but on a more detailed level.
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First off, self care is both physical and mental because daily stressors
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and occasional trauma will affect us both mentally and physically.
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Taking care of our body will help us adapt to stressful situations, just like
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taking care of our mind and adopting practices that are labeled as mindfulness
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will help us restore hope in our lives.
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This is why you read some articles that suggest exercise, proper sleep,
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proper eating and nutrition, as well as meditation, journaling, doing
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yoga, or going for walks outside.
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Some people may think that these are trite suggestions, but when it comes
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to mental health, sometimes the most trite advice is a great starting point.
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The thing is, we can't end it with there.
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We may need other techniques to build upon those very basic suggestions.
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And then last but not least, we need to avoid negative outlets and habits.
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Yes, it's fun to drink your pain away sometimes and go party , or eat
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your fillings with some good dessert.
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However, all that does is that it helps mask the pain.
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It doesn't really heal it from the inside out.
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Again, resilience is not about eliminating pain and stress,
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because that's impossible, but learning how to better manage it.
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The third component is finding purpose.
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There are two ways I want to point out.
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First is helping others.
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Sometimes we need to get outside of our own heads and look beyond our problems.
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Doing activities such as volunteering or helping a family member or friend
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in need can allow you to actively focus on caring for someone else,
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which can foster a sense of connection.
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A second way is more personal, which is taking action in the face of adversity.
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This won't always feel good.
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Sometimes we may be forced to take actions that we don't want to take, but will
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help us get to a better stable position.
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Maybe if you're having financial issues, you may need to get a second job.
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You may need to be late on a bill.
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You may need to reach out for financial help from a family member or friend.
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Again, it doesn't feel good, but sometimes we need to take some sort of
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action to move that needle forward or to get us to a better, stable place.
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And both of these actions present us with opportunities of self discovery.
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Basically what I mean is that when we're on the other side of that hardship,
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or even when we're going through it, we learn more about ourselves and
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automatically build a sense of resilience.
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We realize how strong we actually are.
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And can show it that greater sense of strength and confidence, even
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when we're feeling vulnerable.
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The relationships that we foster will grow and we'll gain a deeper perspective of
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other people, of ourselves and the world.
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And the fourth one is building healthy thoughts.
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This is easier said than done, especially when you're in the midst of a hardship.
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It's easy to let our thoughts spiral and engage in negative or all or
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nothing thinking during these moments.
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But keeping things in perspective and cultivating a helpful outlook
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will lessen the moments of spiraling.
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Yes, stressful situations will arise, and over time, we can build
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better ways to respond to it.
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It takes practice.
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That's why it's called building resilience.
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Again, no one is really born resilient.
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It's something that we build over time.
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And this is when I want to bring up serenity.
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I've mentioned this in other episodes as well, but it's perfect in this episode.
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Accepting the things you cannot change, but focusing on what you do
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have the power and ability to do.
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We can learn from past mistakes and hardships and build better
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behaviors and responses for next time.
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And even though it's a little bit more nuanced, because new challenges will
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pop up eventually, but because of the growth that you've done, while building
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resilience, building inner strength, building courage, that those other past
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experiences that you've had will again help ease the pain and help give you
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a little bit more guidance when going through that new challenge and adversity.
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But let's go on to Part 3, which is my personal theory that I have when it
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comes to resilience versus our culture.
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Our society doesn't like dealing with emotion, and therefore we
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don't really know stress management and emotional regulation.
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We hear phrases such as "toughen up" and "stop crying".
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We continue to perpetuate gendered beliefs on emotions such as finding
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emotional men weak or stoic and dominant women as unfeminine and bossy.
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This leads men to thinking that it's better to bottle up their emotions
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and push them aside, whereas women will become afraid to speak up for
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themselves or voice their opinions.
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People continue to blame the emotion instead of learning how to regulate
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their emotions in healthy ways.
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Like I said in Part 2, even well meaning advice such as breathe and count
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to 10, I hear some young people say that that's just trite and unhelpful.
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And it's true, you can't stop there.
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But again, we need to build additional tips and skills beyond
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these simple suggestions, but they are good starting points.
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The trick is finding which skills actually work for you and putting them to use.
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This is why self reflection is important when you're experiencing a hardship and
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finding that right perspective about it.
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None of this is easy, remember, and there's still pockets of society
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that don't believe in mental health, or counseling, or getting
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a mental health professional.
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I mentioned how some people have a bad perspective of therapists because
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they've had a few bad therapists in their past, but I would liken
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this to finding a doctor, you need medical help, but the first doctor
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or two doctors were bad, so you just swear off medical help altogether.
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That's very dangerous and will only make the situation worse.
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I'm going to say the same thing with mental health.
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Just because you have one or two bad experiences, you've had one
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or two bad therapists, should not be the reason you should swear
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off any kind of mental health.
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Maybe you need to back off and read a book.
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Maybe you need to find a therapist in a different way.
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Maybe you need to do a little bit thorough research on the vetting of a therapist.
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Not every therapist should even have a license.
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I've heard horror stories, but it kind of saddens me when I hear
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people swear off therapy altogether.
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And that goes into my next point.
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I see people on social media trying to spread awareness about mental
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health, including counselors and mental health professionals, but we
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still have communities that still have a negative view on it, or they're
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scared to actually go to a therapist that specializes in their issues.
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And would rather go to like a religious leader or family member
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or somebody who doesn't really have expertise in mental health or from
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an unbiased and scientific approach.
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This can lead us to having a warped perception of reality that perpetuates
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the belief of either a particular religion or traditions and it sometimes
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keeps people stuck in positions of powerlessness and struggle.
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More so, I live in America, so our culture praises capitalistic
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approaches instead of those that help on a human level.
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We can't take a mental health day because of the unreasonable
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demands of a corporate job.
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We're pushed to get married and start families without understanding the
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hardship that those life transitions include, both financial and emotional.
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But then when people do take steps contrary to the traditional
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beliefs, they're shamed for it.
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We shame couples who would rather cohabit instead of get married.
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Many religious groups do this, by the way.
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We shame women who don't want children.
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Employees are made to feel like they must come up with some
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terrible lie, like a family death, just to take a personal day off.
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Our culture still has a long way of putting humans first,
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instead of corporation financial profits and outdated traditions.
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This could be a symptom of late stage capitalism, but I think the American
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culture just really needs a reset.
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And more so about the children.
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People think it's more important to have a kid than raise a child.
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There's another example of putting societal beliefs and fantasies
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before understanding the reality.
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Not everyone is fit to have a kid.
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Also, having a child doesn't mean you automatically become a
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more loving and patient person.
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There's plenty of horror stories of parents, including
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mothers, abusing their children.
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And we see this all the time with the pro life versus pro choice arguments.
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I've kind of touched on it on other episodes, so I'm not
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going to rehash that here.
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All of this pushes us to conformity, which just causes more stress and
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misalignment with what we want.
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We don't put forth the effort to gain more self awareness, emotional regulation,
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and emotional intelligence because we demonize our emotions instead of paying
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attention to them and then seeking the appropriate help for our emotions that
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can help us gain a better perspective of the situation we're reacting to.
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We also end up not knowing how to manage our responses to triggers and
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either shame ourselves or reprimand others in unreasonable ways.
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I see this all the time on social media and yes some of it is displayed just
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simply to cause discourse but some of these harmful beliefs and behaviors
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that we see displayed are in earnest.
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And they're co signed by their viewers.
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I see it repeated offline as well.
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And I often wonder if the many reasons why people seem depressed and anxious
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is because we can't reconcile the disconnect between what society
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tells us to believe and the truth that we're uncovering in part, thanks
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to the internet and social media.
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Many people don't know how to reconcile that disparity.
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And so we behave in negative and even self destructive ways.
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All of this boils down to learning serenity.
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What we can do in accepting the aspects that are out of control.
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That doesn't mean that we don't take steps towards facilitating change towards those
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big level issues such as global warming, late stage capitalism, but instead we
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recognize that we can only do so much.
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Meanwhile, keeping hope and a sense of purpose for our life.
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When we become apathetic and hopeless, we shift into powerlessness and depression,
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which can be very hard to climb out of.
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Building resilience will help us weather the storms that life
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will inevitably take us through.
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So, in conclusion, some hardships and events are so traumatic
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that it can take a long time for us to process and get over it.
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Sometimes these events can prevent us from functioning for a while,
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and this is why I say that therapy is very handy and very important.
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Going through therapy is one way we can cultivate a sense of
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resilience and build necessary skills we can use throughout our life.
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Again, I theorize that many times we fall into a depression cycle or let our
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mind spiral because we're not able to think of anything else better to do or
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healthy ways to process what's going on.
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Therapy is definitely an option if you seem stuck in life or dealing
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heavily with some type of grief.
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00:17:42
This is part of self care, part of self empowerment by taking the
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first steps and seeking help, and it all results in building that
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sense of strength and resilience.
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00:17:53
Thank you for listening to this episode.
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00:17:55
If you're watching on YouTube, be sure to leave me a comment and subscribe for more.
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00:17:59
For those of you listening through a podcast app, make sure you
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00:18:02
subscribe and leave me a review.
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00:18:04
Click the link in the show notes or head on over to Merwin McCrady.
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00:18:08
com to leave me a comment there.
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00:18:10
Thank you so much, and I'll see you in the next one.
