The first card for our 22 day countdown is very appropriate: The Hanged Man; the card of pausing, reflecting and practicing one’s patience. Heck of a way to start a journey, neh?

The Hanged Man tells me this is the time to plan and take the long-view of things to come. I need to look back at the experience of RS2011, both getting there and getting home again. While it was a fantastic experience, there were things we could do better this year. I won’t bore you with the details; they are mine to deal with. But that’s the other lesson of the Hanged Man; taking the time to own your future.

It’s hard not to let the excitement be overwhelming. Just 22 days! But the Hanged Man says you will take the long way there; there’s no shortcutting the time between then and now. You’ll be grateful for the time to prepare and get ready anyway. The Hanged Man tells me this to make the most of this enforced timeout and chance to perceive things from a different perspective and from afar.

The Hanged Man may seem like a setback, but really, the beginning of a journey is a good time to get setbacks dealt with and done with. Personally, I’d much rather stumble at the start of a project instead of dealing with setback at the 11th hour, 59th minute of the journey, anyway.

Queue Chariots of Fire soundtrack. Onward in excelsior!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s card: The Lovers!