The phrase “physician, heal thyself” comes to our culture from the New Testament, where Jesus quotes it as a proverb. Its origins are centuries older, dating back at least to Aesop’s Fables.
Where ever it comes from, it’s often true. Sometimes you have to take your own advice. Or at least, I do.
On numerous occasions in my role as a priest and a spiritual counselor, I have advised people to just trust themselves. For all that divination can help, sometimes you can’t see what’s coming. Sometimes you can’t plan your way around trouble. Sometimes you just have to trust that you’ll be able to handle whatever comes up, because you’re intelligent and competent and you have resources you can draw on.
When bad things happen – or appear to be about to happen – some Christians like to say “it’s all part of God’s plan.” Any God whose plan includes cancer, school shootings, and masked police disappearing people into concentration camps is not a God I care to worship.
As Pagans, we understand that while our Gods are always virtuous, that doesn’t mean our well-being – much less our comfort – is their top priority. We are honored when we can participate in their plans, but they do not manage our lives.
That’s our responsibility.
It’s our responsibility when things are going well, it’s our responsibility when things are going OK, and it’s our responsibility when things are going badly – even if it’s not our fault things are going badly.
Especially when it’s not our fault things are going badly.
Among my many roles (“identities” might be a better term) I’m also an engineer. Whatever the goal, I want a detailed project plan with a flow chart, timeline, and milestones. I want regular progress reports with recovery and remediation when things aren’t going to plan.
And right now I’ve got none of that.
And so I have to take my own advice and trust that whatever happens, however bad or good or in between things get, I can take care of it and come out in good shape.
Of course we’re anxious right now
Is the current debacle in Iran going to be over in a couple weeks, or is this going to be another forever war… only one that ordinary Americans can’t ignore?
Will reproductive rights ever be restored, or will the Christian nationalists succeed in making abortion unobtainable? Will the legislative attacks on trans people ever stop?
Is anything going to be done to alleviate housing costs, medical costs, education costs, and food costs? Or will the rich keep getting richer while the rest of us are left to fight over the scraps?
This is hardly an exhaustive list. I could rattle off another five or six or ten items of serious concern, but why torture ourselves? And that’s before we get to ordinary day-to-day issues of physical, financial, and spiritual well-being.
Of course we’re anxious. We pay attention, we know that the era of consistent progress is over, and we can see that the world isn’t just being run by evil people, it’s being run by incompetent evil people.
We know that Tower Time is a long way from being over.
And while we’d like for someone to pat us on the head and tell us everything is going to be OK, deep down we know that would be a lie.
Of course you’re anxious right now. Anyone who tells you “don’t worry be happy” is either a fool or trying to sell you something you most definitely don’t want to buy.
Divination can help… somewhat
Divination is as old as humanity. When we can’t see what’s coming, we turn to the stars or the cards or the movements of animals to show us what we can’t see with our ordinary eyes.
The problem is that divination can’t tell us for sure what’s coming because the future is not fixed. Divination can tell us what’s most likely to happen, but the more variables we introduce the less precise our predictions can be.
Are you reading for one person for one issue for a short time frame? We can get some very good answers. Are you reading for the whole world for the next five years? About all we can get is themes and directions.
I’ve done several Tarot readings lately. They’ve been generally positive, but more as “things will work out OK in the end” and not “all your plans are going to go off without a problem.” And that’s for me, not for the world at large.
I often compare divination to turning your headlights on when you’re driving at night, so you can see what’s in the road ahead of you. That’s a good and necessary thing to do. But not even the brightest headlights can show you what’s behind a hill you can’t see over.
Divination can help. It can’t show us a perfect picture of the future. It can’t remove all our anxiety.
Keep moving toward your long range goals
So what do we do in the absence of a clear picture of the future?
We keep moving in the direction we want to go.
If you’re waiting on politicians to fix the world you’re going to be waiting a long time. Which is not to say we shouldn’t be politically active – we should. But counting on politics to save us is a recipe for failure… or at least, for disappointment.
What do you want? What do you want to do? How do you want to live? Move in that direction.
Even if you don’t know exactly what that looks like. Even if you don’t know exactly how to get there. Start doing something to move yourself and your life in that direction.
Worst case, you’ll have made progress. Best case, you’ll have the life you’ve always wanted.
Start moving and keep moving.
Deal with problems as they come up
A sign I used to see occasionally on factory floors said “PPPPP: prior planning prevents poor performance.” Good planning – including risk analysis and contingency planning – can make most anything smoother and more certain. But even the best plans can’t anticipate everything that might happen. In the words of Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Practice and training help. That way your skills are sharp when you need them and you respond confidently instead of panicking.
But obsessing over what might happen doesn’t help you prepare, and it’s a lousy way to live your life.
Deal with problems as they come up, not before.
Trust in your experience
One of the advantages of getting old is experience. You know you can do something because you’ve done it before.
The first time I was handed a layoff notice at work, I was terrified. I had images of long-term unemployment, losing my house, and my whole livelihood coming to an end. By the third time I was handed a layoff notice, my response was “oh well, here we go again.” I knew I could find a new job before the old one ran out, because I had done it twice before.
I grew up in the “stagflation” of the 1970s. I’ve lived through the Black Monday crash of 1987, the dotcom bust of 2000 (that led directly though not immediately to that third layoff notice), the Great Recession, and the Covid pandemic. That experience gives me confidence that I’ll make it OK through whatever comes out of this current situation, one way or another.
Experience in dealing with one problem is often relevant in dealing with another problem. Because dealing with most problems in the world is a matter of assessing the situation, identifying options, organizing resources, and then applying consistent action.
I don’t want to have to deal with whatever is going to come out of the current situation. But I know I can, because I’ve done it before.
Live heroically
In the stories of our ancient ancestors, a hero is not someone who wins all the time. Many of the greatest heroes – such as Herakles and Cú Chulainn – didn’t always win. Rather, a hero is someone who lives heroically and conducts themselves virtuously no matter the circumstances.
Our Gods do not promise us victory, much less an easy victory. Instead, they call us to be true to the virtues and values they have shown us and that we have chosen. They call us to work diligently to build good lives for ourselves and our communities, and in doing so to show the world a better way to live.
And that means trusting that, for better or for worse, we can handle whatever comes our way.
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