60. Clinging Vine – Dependency – Do you dream of abandonment? Are you afraid of being alone? In DreamTarot, the Clinging Vine card reminds us of all of the unpleasant aspects of needing others’ constant support to function. The clinging vine can’t stand up by itself, it needs an immoveable shoulder to cling to. We Americans prefer the fantasy of independence and self-determination. It’s just too threatening to imagine what might happen if the wall we’ve been clinging to comes down.

No One Stands Alone – The truth is, we’re all in this together. Billionaires, leaders, CEO’s, all actually need more support than we do. So it’s time to divest of pointless shame and acknowledge the truth that humans are, for good and ill, social creatures.

Challenge – The more we cling to a fantasy of who we are, the less we can see the true reality. Make an experiment of listing your dependencies – bank, mail system, social security? Vehicle, gas availability, fuel affordability? Grocery stores, restaurants, our own two ambulatory feet? Weather, peace, law enforcement?

Danger – Refusing to recognize the fragility of these systems is one danger; the ruthlessness confronting fear creates is another. We are accustomed to the American need to muster a personal armory just in case the daily struggle for existence becomes a shoot-out; think of the long-term effects THAT fantasy will have.

Challenge – Are we hanging ourselves in loops of dependency? How can we free ourselves? What could we do to claim more psychic and physical independence? Mormons require a “year’s worth” of canned goods in the basement, the rest of us recognize the need for an emergency savings account. We are beginning to understand how a threatened supply chain can snap. Begin imagining some future failure scenarios and hash out the possibilities; if the elevator fail, is it possible to take the stairs? Your dream life will reward you with a lessening of existential anxiety.

Meditation –

#Haiku: The Clinging Vine

Lean too hard on me
Fall together
Let me be free, we’re
Supported