Tarot Discussion - The End and The Beginning

This is the card of Completion from the Osho Zen Tarot.

One of my daily routines is to pick a card from one of my many card decks. The intention that I set is "Tell me what I need to know today". I picked this card - COMPLETION - on Thursday July 31st, at about 6:15 am Mountain time. Within an hour and 20 minutes, my Dad left this world.

It is only today that I can actually look at this card and see the profound significance of the message. Osho writes "In the finishing, we can either be in despair because we don't want the situation to come to an end, or we can be grateful and accepting of the fact that life is full of endings and new beginnings." I look at the swiftness of my Dad's leaving, and I wonder if he was in a hurry just to have done with this time and get on to the new life that awaits him. My brothers and sisters and I celebrated Dad's life, both at the funeral and at the family party that night. We were grateful that he did not suffer and that he kept his grace and dignity - one of his strongest wishes. We could be sad, however, we were not despairing. We knew that he looked forward to seeing his Mom and Dad, and his sister, and several fishing buddies that predeceased him.

The card is a reminder too, that part of my life was completing. In the last two years as Dad and Mom downsized and Dad went into an apartment and Mom into daily care, a part of each week was about phoning and chatting, and sending envelopes of "stuff" to read and a short letter. All of this changes now for me, as well. When we sorted through the living room, he had most of my envelopes for the past three years stacked in a pile, with little notes on the envelopes about what was in it. I felt really happy that I had taken the time to put together the envelopes - he loved them!

He also had a stack of maps - he loved maps! The maps were of the places that my three brothers and my two sisters and I had traveled. He liked to know where we started, and where we ended, our journeys, and when we would be home. He had a lot of stories, and loved to share the stories that had a surprise ending. And, he loved practical jokes. There are so many he played - on us, on his friends. My favorite is when a good friend of Mom and Dad's began to grow patio tomatoes. The subject of each visit always turned to the tomatoes. Dad and Mom bought some small cherry tomatoes and about midnight, after everyone was in bed, they stealthy visited the patio tomatoes and tied the cherry tomatoes to the vines with thread. That was the end of the tomato discussion! It is all about beginnings and endings.

My wish for each of you is that you may celebrate your completions and find enthusiasm for the next adventure!

Judith

The OSHO Zen Tarot is available at a reduced rate at Chapters. Click on the deck to order.