Like Characters in Playing Cards

You know the classic playing cards, with jack, queen, king, ace and so on.
In these cards, each figure is cut in half, one side is upside down, the other side upside down.
I don’t know why they are like that, other cards in other games are not cut in half.
I’ve been thinking about the cards recently when, after a long time, I’ve been feeling more stress than usual, worries that have come to keep me awake too much, too often, backaches, more impatience than I used to know.
I was talking to a friend in the morning and telling her that I have my harder moments too and she said, ‘How? Do you? Well, you work with so many people, how can you not manage well?’
Maybe we all have our moments when we are like playing cards. We hold our hands and it shows that we’re fair, strong, balanced, but there’s a side of us that’s upside down. There is also a part of us that sometimes struggles with thoughts, anxieties, ideas, dissatisfactions when something doesn’t go according to expectations and efforts.
We choose every day to bring our share of balance, light, confidence, discipline, and curiosity, do our duties, and contribute as best we can to the world stage.
From time to time, however, doubts, anxieties, our own limiting beliefs, perfectionism, the need for acceptance, validation, imposter syndrome, fear of mistakes, or various other conditioning, make the part of the card that is turned upside down gain ground.
From time to time, we all need support, external benchmarks to help us. I know, we know best what we need and we help ourselves. But I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t welcome a metaphorical shoulder.
These landmarks can be friends, a coach, a mentor, a therapist, family, an app to remind us of things, to give us more ideas when everything around us seems diffuse.
Almost two years into the pandemic, accepting our vulnerabilities is a step towards taking care of ourselves. Caring, compassion, suspending judgment of others for their moments of fragility, solidarity, however little shown, can be catalysts for our well-being and that of those around us.