Hi, Subscribers. I am Stacy Casson, and I write this blog to get ready for the week ahead. This blog uses the power of Play to guide our daily lives. Play can help you grow personally and professionally, and it helps power up your creativity, problem-solving skills, and overall well-being. Let’s set ourselves up for success and inspiration and remember to find joy in every step of our development.
It’s time for an accountability check-in. I kicked off my Hot Seat Summer series yesterday. If you missed it, you can watch the replay here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/hotseatsummer-i7345045055671296000/comments/ . I have continued to focus on digital decluttering, but there are definitely some physical areas to tackle this week. I wrote most days but have tapered off and have not made it back out to a park. I did decompress a few times this week. Yesterday I baked a cake and successfully turned it out without half of it sticking to the pan! What were your wins?
This week, I’m continuing with THE LINEAGES OF CHANGE TAROT, Copyright © Lineages of Change (Adrienne maree brown, LLC; Alta Starr; chelsea cleveland; and Krista Franklin).
The hardest things for me to complete on a form is “What are you trying to accomplish.” That’s why I love to combine TGROW with visuals to help narrow down the area of focus.
What do we want to focus on? I got the Four of Fire reversed. This card reminds me of the Lil Nas X video for Montero. The video was a celebration and reclamation of his identity. The reversed card could mean that I am struggling to celebrate and accept my gifts. I’ve spent the last two weeks blogging about quitting and running away. “The emphasis is on pleasure as a tool and as a destination for aligning with what we really want and making more of it. Oftentimes, we’re in a role that says the harder you work, the more you deserve, or the more you sacrifice, the better you are. This exhibition is about reevaluating the importance of pleasure, of ease, as a way to remind us about the abundance that’s already here, as a way to smooth and speed up our ability to receive what it is that we dream of.” – Tourmaline, Artforum It’s a challenge to present Play as more than a nice to have and therefore my skills as essential. What part of yourself are you failing to embrace and celebrate?
What do we want to achieve in the week ahead? For me, I want to complete my video series: The Seven Days of Soothing and also host a successful Hot Seat Summer this coming Saturday. The Two of Air reminds us about decisions and balance. It sometimes feels like a non-answer when I’m trying to make a decision that I get a card that says decide. The two women are closely joined so I feel as if I need to get my warring points of view on the same page. I like how Deepak Chopra put it in “The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of your Life”:
“If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.
The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.”
Embrace the yes/and. Get away from binary thinking. Not making a decision is also a choice. Do you want to be in the driver’s seat or continue to be reactive?
What is happening? I got the Ten of Fire reversed. This continues the thread of burnout. It’s the end of a cycle. I think for me, it’s pushing through the discomfort of getting out of my comfort zone. I did say yes to The Seven Days of Soothing because each video I record helps me to calm down. The Hot Seat Summer stresses me out a little bit, but I think I’m putting much of the burden on myself. This is an experiment and it either succeeds, or I learn more about what not to do. I’m already feeling more accomplished because the Hot Seat Summer is helping me to streamline my onboarding process. What do you need to take off your plate?
What are your options? I got the Five of Air Reversed and Judgement. The hummingbird imagery reminds me that I flit from flower to flower in search of nectar. Part of the challenge is there are so many choices and directions to explore. The people on the Judgement card are still. I had posted earlier that you can’t lead when you feel like it. My options are to not keep my word and take the easy way out. It’s a win for comfort, but potentially selfish. Or I can continue forward and do the work of being still and getting grounded so that I can be in the proper head space to facilitate people tapping into their inner wisdom.
What is a way forward? The Six of Fire is a card about leadership. There are many little fires about the heads pictured on the card. One head faces the viewer and the other two look at the sides. There is a central fire. So often we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We pick apart our success until we feel like we failed. The amazing Yinka Ewuola challenged us to celebrate ourselves every hour on the hour for six hours. I came away with a better appreciation for who I am. This takes us right back to the beginning of self-acceptance. If I don’t value my gifts, my leadership and my talent, who else will? “There is no one better to be than myself.” – Snoop Dogg from Doggyland Kids Songs – Believe In Yourself.
Need help disconnecting? You can purchase my guide: https://buy.stripe.com/aFa4gA2mV4Z0dmF1BD7EQ0g
Want to be in the Hot Seat, nominate yourself here: https://www.jotform.com/form/251654912259159
Looking for ways to connect with your kids over the summer? https://buy.stripe.com/bJe7sMaTr2QS4Q9fst7EQ0f
If you want to infuse more play into your life to navigate the challenges, my current offerings are listed on my Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/thingstothinkabout. I also urge you to share your experiences and strategies with the community. Your voice is valuable to this journey, and your unique path can inspire others.
Picture Descriptions: Four of Fire reversed: A face with red skin and black vertical stripes over each eyebrow, along the cheeks to the jaw, under the bottom lip. It has gold lips and wears spiked gold hoop earrings. There is a gold object like the sun in the center of the forehead. The forehead has four growths like a crown of claws, and they are on fire. The face is calm. Two of Air depicts two women dressed in white joined closely together surrounded by flowers. There are mountains in the background. Ten of Fire reversed depicts a Black Woman with her braided hair pulled back. She wears a tiara; cries rubies and wears elaborate red flower earrings. There is a heavy gold object clasped around her neck that she carries on her shoulders. The Five of Air reversed is a hooded dark face with a hummingbird and a pink rose where the eyes would be. It feels like the hood is embedded with circuitry. Judgement shows a black and white photo of many Black people kneeling on newsprint. Their heads are bowed in supplication. The Fix of Fire depicts a stylized transparent brown head with two other heads overlaid looking to the right and left. There are six flames above with the center flame outlined in red.
