It is a well established fact that I am not a highly flexible person (metaphorically speaking, physically I am actually quite limber). I don’t do well with surprises, or unexpected changes of plans. For being so far left I nearly fall off, I am often a smidge narrow minded. But mostly when it comes to music. I know what I like, I know what I hate. Not a ton of in-between there.
One of the musicians I really enjoy is John Mellencamp Mostly. His super early stuff is not fabulous to me, the dying scarecrow shit is just morose. And sad. So when I found out last year that he had a new (pretty much all acoustic) album out, I was on it. Jumped in with both feet. Bought the CD. Well, oops. The title is Life Death Live and Freedom.
In reading those words (and we are all fans of words here in JulieLand) wouldn’t you think I might possibly have snagged just a tiny clue as to something about the selections? One would think that yes, but one would be wrong. I detest live albums. All that crowd noise and ad-libbing and off track abandon is a wee bit too freeform for me. And I don’t like sad things, things that deal with the harsh reality, of anything, but specifically life. I looked at the cardboard and I set the CD aside. For a year.
Recently someone asked (Glynis again, if you are interested, because she is now becoming the maven of all inspiration around here) what was the last CD I bought? (Okay, she asked what was the last CD ANYone bought, but I took it personally.) That live album was the answer. I told her that in the comments section, and said that perhaps I should give it a whirl. I did. Today. And I don’t hate it.
It’s very blusey, and yes, kinda negative (it does say in the title death) but it’s also beautifully sensitive, in a way that Mellencamp does so well. One song is called A Ride Back Home, but the lyrics go like this: Hey Jesus can you give me a ride back home? See? Beautiful. But sad.
The last song is called My Sweet Love, and it’s way more lively. I like the whole thing. I will listen to it more, even though I have been reading about how the effect of negatively phrased statements are not as helpful in our overall mental health situation as if we worded our thoughts with a more positive slant. I know this is one of the Universal Laws, speak lovingly and you will live lovingly. But I am going to risk it, every so often, and listen to this music, maybe not singing along as much as I usually do. Except for the last song, which is peppy-er. (Also, one cut has a great violin/fiddle piece on it, but I can’t remember which one it was.)
Another thing before we get on with the evening dose of wisdom and report in with sightings, is what I heard in my car coming home from the pool an hour ago (because I had to listen to the radio since I had already brought this CD into the house before I left). Holiday carols! On two out of six stations! My hair would have burst into flames if I hadn’t been so wet.
I saw two Colorado plates and a Utah this week. I told Daniel I didn’t want to mention either one, because they are becoming as common as the Washington and Californias that I banned from the blog. But they were there, so I had to tell you. Yesterday I saw two foreign license plates that whizzed by me too fast to read the states. They count, but they will be the State of Mystery for now.
Our card came up reversed today, and that is the way we want this one to fall. 
I do truly believe that there are no BAD cards, or bad luck cards, or cards of doom. Every challenge is a lesson. But if we can get this one upside-down, I’ll cheer every time. 
Nine of Swords ~ reversed
I give the cards little names (you know how I am about titles) and this one is called “nightmare” or “end of our nightmare.” It has very much to do with how we are moving out of some difficult spots, and remember, swords are of the wind and air, words and language, technical and detail crap (like contracts and documents).
The way I read it when you are sitting in front of me is to have you see yourself as this person, your legs outstretched, the covers all rumpled, busy shit in your brain. Now, since we got this in the contrary position, the hard part is behind us. We have already begun to smooth the bedclothes, already started to sort out the problems and the tangled words, we have already moved our legs around so we can see the patterns of those celestial shapes. When we are able to understand what is there, what the messages mean, and where those swords can benefit us, we have taken the necessary steps to put our nightmares behind us. Walking freely forward, maybe even draping that lovely blue blanket over our shoulders, in a jaunty fashion, as if it were a cloak.
