Socrates is credited with saying "The unexamined life is not worth living". I'm guessing it was sometime shortly before he said "I drank what?"
The Ace of Swords hints at this same idea, only in a less morbid way.
What is so great about the "examined" life that Socrates would rather order a vente hemlock-latte than leave well enough alone?
What is the down side of not thinking about life? Isn't ignorance supposed to be bliss?
In a way it is. But how many people in modern America can live a life of being "in the here-and-now", being content with things exactly as they are. Very few, is my guess. It just isn't in our can-do, inventive nature.
On the other hand, there is such a thing as 'knowing just enough to be dangerous'. The risk lies in the shallow waters, in a vapid, pale, thoughtless, existence somewhere in-between "here-and-now" and personal growth. Today's card cautions us against wandering through life with eyes wide shut.
Examining life, trying to be a better person, and looking for the kind of spiritual awakening that the Ace of Swords symbolizes is a gift to yourself and everyone around you. You get a deeper, more colorful, more meaningful life. Everyone around you benefits from your example and your general trail-blazing. You don't have to be all-knowing, super-wise, special or amazing, like a guru on a mountain somewhere. Like the TV ad for a mentoring program says...you just have to BE there. Just walk your talk, find what is meaningful to you. It doesn't matter so much what truth you find. What matters is that you look for it in the first place. Taking the journey of awakening raises the energy around you and makes the world a better place.
Ironically, once a person decides to to in the direction indicated by the Ace of Swords...once they allow the awakening...often they end up right back at that "here and now" sort of contentment. The Ace of Swords may send you in a circle, but it is a journey well worth taking.
Wishing you a wide awake, colorful, and content day.
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