COVID-19 Update

I think we're all a little burned out from news about the virus, but since this is potentially a real-time take on an historic development, I guess I should at least give a bit of a play-by-play for future readers. Some other weird, unrelated stuff has been happening as well, which I'll make sure to mention.

Where I left things off, the United States had the highest number of confirmed cases, Italy was in second but had the highest number per million, and China was in third, although they carry the weight of creating and failing to contain the initial spread and there is a lot of questions surrounding how they report their numbers. Canada had the 15th highest number of cases, and I was skeptical of India, which has the second largest population with some extremely high population-dense areas, ranking in at #41. Russia also seemed suspect at #33.

Nowadays, the United States still has the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by Brazil, followed by Russia. Brazil has made it clear that it intends to take no countermeasures in response to the virus. This is reflected by the fact that, despite having the second highest number of cases, they have reported performing nine hundred and thirty thousand tests compared to Russia's ten million and the States' seventeen milllion. Meaning they have done less than a tenth of the testing Russia has, and less then a seventeenth that of the States. So they likely have many, many more infected than what they are reporting.

It's been reported that drug cartels in Brazil are enforcing stay-at-home orders. I don't think this is as widely seen as media has portrayed, but it sure invokes a feeling of irony that these criminals are taking the advice of scientific and medical professionals while the government resists.

At least the nation will provide interesting data when the question is asked, "What would happen to a country that didn't react to the COVID-19 pandemic?"

On the opposite side of things, Sweden has taken very few countermeasures, and the world wants to know why they are doing relatively okay.

Russia's been throwing doctors out of windows every once in a while when they complain they don't want to work due to being tested positive for COVID-19 and being reluctant to spread it to their patients. The situation must be more complex than that, but it does kind of indicate what puts them at #3.

India's still doing well, all things considered, but when I last reported, they were at #41, and they are now at #7. Very different placement from before. The amount of testing they've done per million is almost half that of Brazil... which is something to keep in mind.

Before I move on, I do realize that I just put Brazil, Russia, China, India, and kind-of-not-really Italy on blast without touching the United States, the place with the third highest popuation and current highest number of reported cases. I usually try not to get too political on this blog, but since I provided a quick-and-easy low-light reel of five other nations, it would just be unfair to not mention how the States have handled things.

I guess it started when they disbanded their pandemic response unit. When the presidency became aware of the virus, they downplayed it and insisted things were under control. They continued to resist taking preventative measures until things got out of hand, at which point, the president suggested hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial immuno-suppresant which would make the virus far more deadly.

New York City has been the heaviest hit region of the US.

Despite Italy being iconic as the nation that was inexplicably hit hard, the UK and Spain have a harsher cases per, and deaths per million, with similar numbers regarding testing at this time.

As far as good news goes, you should be happy if you live in...

Saint Pierre Miquelon, Anguilla, St. Barth, the Caribbean Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Falkland Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Timor Leste, Eritrea, Macao, French Polynesia, or the Faero Islands.

They have all been exposed to, but have fully recovered from, COVID-19.

Within Canada, Quebec has been our hardest-hit province, with Ontario coming in second. Who had the least? Well, the territory of Nunavut never encountered someone with the virus. So, how much of it did they have? They had none of it! (get it?)

Nowadays, reports are showing that Ontario's outbreak is pretty centred in the Greater Toronto Area at this time. This doesn't give me too much comfort, as I have grandparent, aunts, a girlfriend, cousins, and a niece that live in the Greater Toronto Area.

However, within Guelph, where my mother and brother live, there are no active cases of COVID-19. In Waterloo Region, I understand the general community is relatively safe, with the exception of those in the medical field, long term care residencies, and retirement homes. We're still relaxing too fast, though.

This virus has really exposed the abusive nature of many of our long term care residencies and retirement homes.

I'm feeling tired, so I'll get back to you guys with the Murder Hornets, aliens, and race wars next time

Garden 2020

Three or so weeks ago, the Canadian government announced garden centres to be an essential service. This was refreshing news to me, because I prefer to keep a garden and I wasn't really expecting to be able to have one this year.

So here's what it looks like now

I've got tomato plants in the back, so that they don't cast shade on the rest of the plants when they get tall. There is an overhang from my neighbour's balcony, so sunlight is mostly accessed therough the front. They're Early Girl tomatoes this year, as well as one solitary cherry tomato plant, a little closer to the front. The Early Girls are supposed to produce a little more quickly than the types I've been growing (I think Beefsteak?) This should cut down on my intake of fried green tomatoes at the end of the season. I'm going to try trimming the leaves this year. Apparently that really helps them to produce.

Coming down the side, we've got cucumbers. I'm going to train them to go in the direction of the chicken wire fence, so that they'll climb it.

I have three types of peppers: Cayenne, Thai Dragon, and even a Ghost Pepper. If you don't know, the Ghost Pepper is the former world-record holder for hottest pepper in the word. It also coined the phrase "Superhot", which means anything hotter than a Habenero. It's outclassed officially by the Scorpion Pepper, the California Reaper, and unofficially by the Dragon's Breath, and the Pepper X. The latter two, I believe are generally considered to be the two hottest peppers in the world right now, but haven't been officially evaluated yet.

Yeah, I looked it up an it appears the Carolina Reaper still holds the title:

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/hottest-chili?fb_comment_id=847393145282055_871024686252234

My fondest wish for my garden this year is to grow a Ghost Pepper, but I doubt it can happen. It already looks pretty sickly, and I imagine such a specialty pepper requires certain conditions to grow.

I also have two celery plants thrown in the mix.

Here's something exciting! You guys remember how I brought a Blue Hyacinth back from the dead when I got my job? Well, it eventually looked pretty sickly. I kept it alive through the winter season, and in the spring I planted it in my garden, but a squirrel messed with it and it seemingly died a slow death. But I'm pretty sure it grew back this year!

I planted beans to crawl up the chicken wire. Usually, I do snow peas, but beans were all I could get my hands on this year.

In the front, I've got a plot of radishes and a plot of sunflowers. I'm growing radishes because they were the most consistent crop at our WALES plot, and of course, if you've been reading for... maybe nine months, you know I love sunflowers.

Last year, I tried growing sunflowers through four different methods. I had two kinds of seeds, long-seed sunflowers (I think that's what they were called) and Lemon Queens. I grew some directly in the soil and some in jiffy pots. The only ones to survive were three Lemon Queens, grown directly from the soil.

So I knew what to do this year. Unfortunately, people are still panic buying, and for some strange reason, people are panic buying sunflower seeds. They weren't at the dollar store, they weren't at my local grocery. I wound up going on my longest excursion since the pandemic started and went all the way out to Central Fresh Market, which didn't have any, and then finally to Wal Mart, which did.

Another thing people are panic buying is bamboo. I usually get bamboo stakes from the dollar store, but they're plum out, so I picked up some of those at Wal Mart too. Also, a new charcoal grill.

I'm really fascinated by which stores are seeing the most traffic. Because of physical distancing measures, only a certain number of people are allowed to be in stores at a time, and everyone has to stand two metres apart. It's not uncommon that I will be near my local grocery, and there will be no line up outside Food Basics, no line outside the LCBO (liquor store), and a line a mile long outside Dollarama.

Nobody seems to talk about Big Dollarama. Everyone talks about the mega-corporations like Wal Mart and Amazon, and I don't know if this phenomenon exists elsewhere, but Dollarama brand dollar stores are on every corner.

I remember walking back from a mall with someone I was supporting, and walking past three Dollaramas, and I know for a fact that if I kept walking, there was another nearby. So that's at least three Dollaramas within easy walking distance. Arguably for.

And if I chose to walk downtown from there, which is a walk I've done many times, there another one downtown. And if I chose to walk to Frederick Mall, which is only slightly off the heart of downtown, there's one in that mall too.

There's one near where I live. They're more common than Tim Hortons! (and in this neck of the woods, you can pretty well guarantee you'll run into a Tims' if you walk 15 minutes in any direction)

I get it. The stores themselves are never huge, their design is visually understated. They don't really advertise. Nobody brags about shopping at the dollar store. PRices are very affordable, products are more usable than most would like to admit. They kind of snuck their way into being this huge thing without anybody realizing it.

Maybe it's just a Kitchener thing, I dunno.

They've put up hand-drawn bristol board signs written in sharpy in their windows, saying "WE ARE OPEN" like all the desperate independently-owned businesses are doing. Dollarama's portraying itself as some poor, struggling, small business that needs your support. Give me a break.

Anyway, back to gardening.

Lee-Anne's mom actually dropped off the seedlings. She knows I'm on the hot pepper scene, so she got me those three types. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I've tried to grow peppers before with no luck. Apparently they have pretty picky sun conditions, and I've got a big tree in my backyard that casts shade on my plot. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

She also gave me a mask.

I've got a problem where nearly my entire wardrobe is plaid. Well, now I have a blue plaid mask! I took it out on it's maiden voyage to get the sunflower seeds.

Apparently masks are being politicized. Initially, we were told that wearing a mask provided little if any protection, and that you actually created a greater risk of contamination by mishandling your mask. Now, they're required on entry into some stores.

What I'm hearing is that you have "pro-mask" cultures and "anti-mask" cultures, and Canada is anti-mask. While we promote freedom of religion, Muslim women who choose to wear face coverings are required to have their photos taken with their garments removed for identification purposes. Generally speaking, people influenced by Asian cultures are quicker to don surgical masks for reasons ranging between an infectious outbreak and simple dust. Ethnic minorities who choose to wear masks are often seen as a symbol of gang affiliation. You're not allowed to wear masks in school fo Halloween.

So thoughts are that our firm disdain for masks as a culture put a bias in our approach to the pandemic. Now that we've had time to evaluate, we're trying to transition from an "anti-mask" society to a "pro-mask" society.

I'm still hesitant, because I feel like physical distancing and hand-washing are still our two best solutions to stop the spread of the virus, and I worry that if people see masks as the primary solution, they'll be like, "I can go to my rugby game, I'm wearing a mask!"

But now I'm wearing one just to remind people that the pandemic is still ongoing. People around here have relaxed way too much. The weather is better, it is brightening peoples' spirits and reducing their fear. People are weary from staying isolated for two months, and there has recently been a small relaxation in services that had been prohibited. Canadian Tire and Home Depot are open, garden centres opened, clothing stores that have an external entrance and exit have been opened, including the second hand store across the street, and restrictions on medical businesses such as dentists and optometrists are now allowed to see non-emergency clients again. Of course, all these businesses have to maintain certain safety precautions.

People don't realize that the country is walking a tightrope between public health and the economy, and the only reason that we can safely enter the second stage of our pandemic response is because when it started, we weren't practiced in how to slow the spread of an infectious disease. We should now be using what we learned to carefully reopen the economy.

But the parking lot is filled with children wrestling and sweating all over each other. My backyard is full of people playing soccer (since soccer fields are still closed). I got hit by a soccer ball three times when I was putting my garden in.

Sigh

Duck Fight

The coronavirus has had a number of side-effects that promote a cleaner, healthier environment. International travel has been drastically reduced, with commercial flying being cut entirely, and essential travel being held under scrutiny, reducing fossil fuel emissions by aircrafts. With so many people recently unemployed or being offered remote work options, there are fewer vehicles on roads, meaning less fuel emissions from automobiles as well. Things that were formerly paper-based, such as contracts, documents, cash, and cheques, are finding alternatives now, decreasing need for deforestation. People are cooking more at home and buying in bulk, meaning that convenience- and fast-food demand is decreasing, which means a decrease in packaging and plastic waste as well.

With so many people indoors, many people have noted that animals are becoming bolder. It's like the Earth is reclaiming what we took from it. I recently got to experience this sudden burst in confidence from local wildlife when I was recently challenged for my status as king of the urban jungle by a gang of ducks.

Now, to be fair to them, I started it. You might remember me posting about the first time I intervened when I saw a male duck assaulting a female. This is not an uncommon things to see, and I used to take the stance that nature is beyond our human understanding, and even if we find something repulsive, it's not our role to try and change it. However, I later learned that successful male ducks are able to develop consensual relationships with females. The aggressive male ducks are the losers that couldn't successfully attract a mate, and female ducks have evolved their bodies to decrease their chance of being impregnated by an aggressive male. So in the case of duck violence, you absolutely can and should intervene when you see it. Those toxic male incel ducks don't deserve to pass on their genetics.

So nowadays, when I see a male duck assaulting a female, I stomp on the ground next to the male as hard as I can. This has, until now, always resulted in the male immediately flying away from the scene.

Now I admit, this story happened awhile back. At this time, mating season is over, eggs have hatched, and ducklings are being raised. This story takes place just a little after mating season, when the unsuccessful males have realized that they won't be able to attract a mate.

So I'm out for a walk, and I see this classic scene of two male ducks flanking a female, while the female is screaming and running. Obviously, I run toward them. The female just keeps running, which is understandable, as she cant see that I'm here to help and must only perceive me as an additional attacking animal.

The males are persistant. I jump and stomp and kick but the three of them keep running, and when I get too close, they flutter slightly out of range, but land and continue their behaviour. At one point, everyone calms down, and I wonder if I failed to assess the situation, but then the female starts screeming and running again, and the males start chasing and pecking at her again.

This time, when I try to intervene, four more male ducks arrive at the scene. When this happened, I actually threw my arms back and shouted "Come at me!" The four male ducks surround me and start doing that thing where they flutter at you and lash at the air with their bills but flutter away before making contact. Meanwhile, the two initial male ducks are trying to separate themselves from the skirmish while making away with the female.

I'm weaving, throwing punches, and dashing after the ducks that are chasing the female. This whole thing eventually ended when I made a long jump intending to land on one of the original male agressors. I didn't quite make contact, and all members involved flew outside my reach. After that, I had to admit that there was nothing else I could do.

Afterwards, I was sweating buckets and my heart was racing. I think I heard someone laughing from a distance during the confrontation, so some people might know me as a person that fights ducks.

In other news, I'm thinking about opening a new blog. This is by far the blog that sees the most updates, but I do currently have three others. They are as follows:

Gryphon's Gallery: a blog for images, whether they are photos or artistic endeavours

Gryphon's Reviews: a place where I critically review pieces from different mediums, including books, shows, video games, and consumables

The Migrating Gryphon: documents my experiences while traveling. Right now it covers my experiences during Katimavik and Canada World Youth. Who knows when I'll be able to update it again. I've contemplated doing updates about walking to the closed Fairview Mall during lockdown, since travel is so stigmatized

The new blog I'm considering is one for recipes. The pandemic has inspired a lot of experimental cooking, and I would like to share what I have learned.

I haven't decided on a name, but currently I'm considering Gryphon's Grill or Gryphon's Griddle, which would be good because of the aliteration, but right now I have more baking recipes than grilling ones. Gryphon's Kitchen and Cooking with Gryphon are basic names.

Let me know if you guys have any better name ideas.

Also, stay tuned. I started my garden for 2020 recently and plan on having it completed this weekend, so I will probably have another update in a few days.

Coronavirus Tarot

For the past few months I've really focused my updates on the Coronavirus, which is understandable because it has effected almost everyone on the planet. However, conventional reports on the global impact has gotten a little tiring, I think. I don't want to veer away from the topic entirely, but I think it might be refreshing to look at the situation from a bit of a different perspective.

So I did a tarot reading on the Coronavirus. If you don't know, I have an aunt of the Wiccan faith. She gave me a tarot deck for Christmas one year and taught me the basics. I have some grandparents who also value the tarot. It might not seem like something that I would be into, but I genuinely believe in this practice. It doesn't make much sense, and so if you don't believe in it, I certainly respect your opinion. However, over the years, I've seen clear themes in how the cards read based on how you treat them, and I've developed enough accuracy that I feel it can't be dismissed.

For anyone that doesn't know, tarot reading consists of a deck of cards, each with a symbolic image. The Minor Arcana comprises four suits (the Pip Cards): Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles. Within those suits, you have Court Cards, so each suit has a Page, Knight, Queen, and King. It's the same premise as face cards in a regular deck, except the Jack is replaced by the Page and Knight. There is an Ace for each suit as well. Outside of the Minor Arcana, there are 22 Major Arcana, each of which hold a specific significance, and are considered more powerful. The idea is that, you can shuffle the cards out and lay them down in a spread that offers incite into someone's past, present, and future.

I'm using a Riders Deck, which is the standard for tarot. My preferred deck is the Revelations Deck by Zach Wong, partly because it has illustrations for both the upright and reversed images, but since I figured I would be collecting images for this post, and because most of my readers haven't experienced this before, I felt it would be best practice to use the most standard deck.

I guess I should mention that there are innumerable versions of tarot cards. You can get Walking Dead Tarot, Angel Tarot, Cat Tarot, Gnome Tarot, you name it. You don't need a standard Riders Deck, but a proper set of cards should follow the universal symbols that they established. So long as your deck meets that criteria, you should just choose one that resonates with you.

The spread I'm using today is the Celtic Cross. It's a ten-card situation, probably the standard for tarot readings, and I will step you through what each position means.

For authenticity, here is a photo of the spread:

Usually I prefer to do readings in pairs. I feel that the cards are a tool, rather than having intuition in and of themselves. They're like the concept of writing. The squiggles on a page of paper mean nothing, but because multiple parties agree on the meaning, they communicate something more. In a traditional reading, the querent offers their energy, which is picked up by the reader, and gets translated into the language of the cards. This is why both parties are necessary.

I say that, but my experience indicates that they are a bit more than simple translation tools. For instance, I now sort my cards before every reading, because when I didn't, the results were muddied. When I do sort them, results are much more clear.

And in this vein, considering what I said about the reader and querent, a solo reading would be ideal. This is because one person supplies both the aura and the knowlege. However, despite this seeming to make sense, I have found that when I do readings for myself, the results are more muddied and vague. Even when I have someone who does not know how to read the cards shuffle the deck and lay them out, the answers are clearer. There seems to be some power to having two energies involved, although I'm not sure why.

This reading seems like it meant something. When I was shuffling the cards, my cat Kieran kept bringing me his cat wand to try and get me to play with him. When I didn't, he bit my toe and jumped on the table and messed with the cards. Lee-Anne pointed out that his involvement met every criteria of the "two energy" rule, and by investing his energy and physical touch to the cards, made it possible for the clear communication in this reading.

I want to acknowlege that at least two of my readers have been practicing tarot longer than I have, and I hope they let me know if I come up short. 

Anyway, let's do this reading:

This Covers Me: 4 of Swords Reversed

This card represents who I am at this point in time. Swords represent burdens and the strength to carry those burdens. They belong to the element of air (I don't know why I bother to say what each suit's element is, it never seems to contribute to further discusion). This person is trying to sleep on a bed of swords. It represents restlessness and an inability to sleeep. This makes sense, since current events have spiked my insomnia.

A card is reversed when it is uspide-down, and implies a kind of alternative meaning to the image, as opposed to the most overt message. Usually a reversed card has more negative implications, but there are exceptions to this rule. I don't know how to flip an image on here, so everything will be upright.

This Crosses Me: Knight of Pentacles

The crossing card signifies my presenting issue. Pentacles represent material wealth and the element of earth. The knight represents someone who has developed a reputation for themselves but has not settled down. After consulting with Lee-Anne, this might be my roommate, who managed to find work within the pandemic, and who needs to visit clinics regularly for blood checks and to replace his catheter since his surgery has been delayed until the COVID-19 situation settles. I would have been most comfortable if he just laid low and let me pay rent, but his pride led him to work again, which makes things more economically comfortable for me, but opens a viral entryway into my home, which has caused me sleeplessness.

After completing the summary, I think this anxiety can be expanded to everyone in my life who is prioritizing the economy over the health and well-being of humanity.

This is Beneath Me: The Hermit Reversed

The Beneath card represents the recent past. The Hermit is our first Major Arcana, which means it sends a particularly strong message. This card represents solitude. In its upright position, it means deep intropection, self-exploration, independance, and finding one's own inner light. However, it is in the reversed position, which means the negatives of being alone. This might include isolation, loneleyness, and festering thoughts.

Clearly this indicates the negative impacts of the stay-at-home order. I am missing the key figures of my life, namely my girlfriend, my mother, and brother, and my job has been drastically restructured. Being forced into solitude also facilitates festering negative thoughts, such as the health and economic implications of recent events.

This is Behind Me: Six of Swords Reversed

This image shows a man rowing toward new horizons with a boat full of swords. It represents a person on a long, arduous journey full of burdens. When it's reversed, it means that the person is undergoing this difficult project, but going in the wrong direction, and they will never reach their destination. Thankfully, this is in the distant past, which may imply that I abandoned the journey, or changed direction.

What constitutes a "distant past" is subjective. Usually it's something further back, but since this reading is focused on the pandemic, it might be limited to the early stages of adapting to the Coronavirus, which was only a few months ago.

Lee-Anne thinks it might be my paranoid overreaction to the change in lifestyle. I maintain my reaction was wise and level-headed.

This is Above Me: Seven of Swords

This card represents my distant future, or my future if I do not choose to make an intervention. This image shows a man, tiptoeing away from a cluster of tents. He is glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one sees him.

The act of taking swords away from someone represents taking away their burdens and putting them on oneself, and it also might represent taking power away from your opponent by disarming them. Regardless, this card indicates that this person is being tacticle and taking the strength away from his opposition instead of confronting them outright.

The Celtic Cross offers two alternative futures: an uninterrupted result and a result where an intervention takes place. This card represents an uninterrupted future, whereas the Advice and Conclusion cards offer some kind of intervention, and the results of that intervention. This card flows really well with the Advice and Conclusion cards, so I will reserve further discussion until we get to that point.

This is Before Me: Justice Reversed

This card represents the near future. In this image, we have a man, seated on a throne, in one hand holding a set of scales, and in the other, a blade.  The throne represents authority, the scales represent a tool to balance rights and wrongs, and the blade represents the ability to administer punishment for those who have tipped the balance against themselves. In the upright position, this represents people and systems that effectively make sure justice is maintained. In reverse, it represents anything that stands in the way of justice being seen through. This doesn't have to be malicious, but it does looks like some injustice is coming my way in the near future. Since this is Major Arcana, it looks like I will take it real personally, too.

These Are My Fears: Three of Wands

I am always deeply intrigued when the fear card is positive. In this case, the card representing my fears is the most positive in the spread. Wands represent spirituality, mostly seen in everyday tasks, and they belong to the element of fire. I find them the most difficult suit to interpret.

In this image, we see a person holding a wand, with two more at his back. He is gazing toward a vast emptiness, seemingly contemplating the journey ahead. This card represents finally setting out on a long, spiritual journey and contemplating what may come.

Don't know why I'm afraid of that.

These Are the People in My Life: The Hanged Man

This is an easy one. The Hanged Man, similar to Death, is one of the most misunderstood cards. It should be noted that he is not being hanged by his neck, but rather, his ankle. There is even a beam of light surrounding his neck to illustrate that he is just fine. This card represents self-sacrifice, and looking at things from a different perspective. It belongs to the Major Arcana, which means that the people in my life are particularly important to me.

Regarding current circumstances, we are all being asked to behave in ways that we are not used to. We are being asked to put our faith in the government to safeguard our health and well-being. We are relinquishing our greatest strength, as the common people, to band together and use our numbers to make ourselves relevant. Things that we have grown up assuming we were entitled to are now being denied to us. I approve of the actions of our government and believe that we, the Canadian people need to make a united effort to end this, but the actions necessary are still frightening.

So, the people in my life are indeed needing to reframe their thoughts and commit themselves to a new way of living in order to see this pandemic through.

This is My Advice: Five of Swords

The Advice card can either be a suggestion or a warning. We went over the Above earlier, which is the uninterrupted past. The card after this one is the Conclusion, which is what will happen if you follow the Advice card's guidance. Basically, you look at the Above and the Conclusion, and choose which you want. If you want the Conclusion, follow the instructions of the Advice card. If you want the Above card, just try and stay on track, and be wary of the temptations that the Advice card says will be present in your life.

So the Advice Card shows a man picking up swords, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one is looking.  It sounds exactly like the Above card, right?

There is one clear distinction, though. For the Above card, the man is glancing back at a number of tents. For the Advice card, the man is looking at a number of men who are walking away, having laid down their blades.

The difference is that, in the Above card, I am disarming my opponents by striking them when they are weak. In the Advice card, I believe that I am disarming my opponents, but in reality, I am simply taking on the burdens of those who have chosen not to fight.

This is the Conclusion: Nine of Wands Reversed

We arrive at the Conclusion. This image shows a wounded man, clutching a wand, backed by a wall of wands. In the upright position, it signifies preparation for one final battle before victory. In reverse, it represents preparing for a battle that will never come. Probably because I was preparing for those people who laid down their swords in the Advice card!

So, looking at the two decisions regarding my future, it seems to show a classic "pick your battles" scenario. I will arrive at some sort of conflict, and I will need to disempower my opposition in some way. However, there will be multiple parties involved, and it will be difficult to see who is truly my opposition. I may be tempted to use my energies to prepare for a conflict that will not happen. It is important that I evaluate the situation carefully. However, if I am dilligent, I should be able to make the right decision without changing  my course.

Summary

I am restless. I can't sleep well because of current circumstances, and the situation weighs heavy on my mind. The source of my stress is the people in my life who are more worried about the economic implications than the health and well-being of humanity. I have recently been feeling isolated and lonely, which has caused my thoughts to fester and become obsessive. I am recently recovering from a fruitless journey that was taking me down an unproductive path. I will soon encounter some form of injustice. My greatest fear is what day-to-day life will look like for a long time going forward. The people in my life are making sacrifices and are making an earnest effort to look at things from a new perspective. Going forward, I need to pick my battles. While I will need to be proactive and take responsibility in diffusing conflict between some people, there will be times when I am tempted to take control when it is not needed. If I try to control everything, I will exhaust myself, preparing for events that will never occur. However, so long as I stay the course, my natural intuition will overcome my temptations, and I will be able to act productively.