Four of Swords - Reflection

My immediate impression of this card, the Four of Swords is one of the wholeness that comes from being centered through meditation, giving focus and clarity of thought.

The breath is essential for relaxation, because we need more that 80% of our oxygen for our brains to function properly and this gives us the ability to concentrate. Many of us breath shallowly from  the top of our lungs instead of diaphragmatic breathing which gives an optimum amount of oxygen.

The Four of Swords brings the four directions and the four elements to my mind, all that give balance, and strength. In the business of life it is more often than not, that we either think we can't, or don't take or make the time to get centered so we can find some good, orderly, direction, through withdrawal and reflection. It is a good habit to develop and one of the main reasons I have journaled for over thirty years.

Here is Oretes is in exile in Phocis. He has been forcibly exiled, regardless is peaceful and contemplates the four swords set in a pattern before him. Whether we are forced into some kind of exile or if it is voluntarily, we can choose to take advantage of this time for reflection, meditation and some self-examination, and hopefully return as a better person.

I think of Nelson Mandela who spent so many years in exile, only to return to society as a person who set a great example and mentor to so many.

"Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting down just to think is one of the best ways of keeping yourself fresh and able, to be able to address the problems facing you, and you had the opportunity, also, of examining your past." - Nelson Mandela