Sometimes, when I feel I need centering and a sense of direction, I’ll draw a rune. Runes are small stones or tiles with symbols etched into them—a form of oracle. The little book which accompanies my set of runes defines Oracle as something that “points your attention towards those hidden fears and motivations that will shape your future by their unfelt presence.” It’s a little like drawing a Tarot or Angel card. I don’t really put a lot of stock in oracles or fortune telling or astrology, but I do enjoy playing with many different methods for accessing my muse; the runes are one of these methods.
On this particular day, I drew the rune “Fehu”—representing possessions and nourishment. My rune book has a page or two of description for each symbol, but there’s usually a line or two that will resonate strongly with me on any given day. (I assume that means there’s something in that line I need to think about.) This time, the lines were
This rune calls for a deep probing of the meaning of profit and gain in your life. Look with care to know whether it is wealth and possessions you require for your well-being, or rather self-rule and growth of a will.
I admit that I had been worrying a bit about money, so the rune’s message hit dead center. What do profit and gain mean to me? And, aside from money and possessions, what personal qualities do I want to nurture? A host of questions arose around this topic, so I thought I’d share these with you in the form of:
This Week’s Journaling Prompts
- Perform word association exercises with the word Profit and then with the word Loss. Look over your word lists. What do you notice about each of the lists? What emotions are associated with each word? How many of the words relate to material concepts and how many relate to emotions or qualities?
– - Freewrite for ten minutes about “Growth of Will.” What does that phrase mean to you?
– - What is your primary goal in life right now? What do you stand to gain and what do you stand to lose in the effort to reach that goal?
– - Complete the following sentence: When it comes to wealth and possessions, I struggle with …
– - In this culture, we tend to simultaneously desire and disdain wealth. For example, we want to live comfortably and believe that hard work is rewarded by financial gain and, at the same time, we tend to harbor a belief that the wealthy are inherently greedy or flawed in some way. Explore this topic: How much is enough, how much is too much, and what makes the difference?
– - What is the highest value in your life? Is it freedom? Family? Love? Loyalty? How does holding that value affect your relationship to money and/or possessions?
– - Repeat prompt #1, but this time at the top of the page, write down the word that represents your highest value (from prompt #6). Then, keeping your value in mind, perform the word association exercises with Profit and Loss. Review your lists. How are they the same? How are they different? What strikes you as you look at these lists together? Freewrite for ten minutes.
The terms Profit and Loss mean many things to many people. What do they mean to you? And did their meanings shift as you responded to these prompts?
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Image Credits:
Fehu Rune- Linden Tea Money Goal – Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig–
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Your articles and the accompanying prompts always challenge me to try something new. The idea of writing about profit and loss is certainly new for me. Thank you.
For me, growth of will means what am I willing to do to grow. Try new things, be more confident, trust my talent, basically raise my own expectations for myself. ..Got me thinking again, Amber.