When the Four of Cups comes up in readings, it can sometimes indicate someone being too preoccupied, or at the other extreme, experiencing boredom and dissatisfaction.
Sometimes one might hear that only boring people get bored. This is not true at all. Sometimes we reach the end of a cycle where things that used to inspire or excite us don't anymore. Maybe we are experiencing a lull. Usually when we are bored we really want to feel alive and engaged. Sometimes the clear path to that isn't so obvious.
Ways to snap out of this involve a little personal excavation. When was the last time you did something that was new to you?
I had reached a point in my life where nothing that used to inspire me made any sense, no matter how hard I tried. When almost everything starts to become boring and routine, that can be pretty jarring. It wasn't until I tried to impress a young man by teaching myself to play a song for him on the ukulele that I realized this was the first time in a really long time that I actually engaged in a brand new activity.
And what I realized in that one instance, beyond the fact that I had learned something new for the first time in forever, was that I had reached the end of a part of a journey, and I was meant to start building what was next, which was exciting, if not at times a little scary.
Lots of people get comfortable with complacency because they fear what they don't know about the future. Particularly as we get older, the more trying to build something new tends to become scarier, because shouldn't we have figured it out by now? A little secret, nobody ever has it just figured out, because we are all constantly meant to evolve.
Maybe that means spiritually for you. Maybe that means a new job. Maybe a new career. Maybe it just means just learning how to sloppily play a new song on the ukulele. Whatever it is, if you are bored, start asking yourself why. And don't stress yourself out a lot doing it. Just because you lose interest in things, doesn't mean you are depressed. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with you. It means just follow your gut towards a shift.
If you are thinking about a career change, or a relationship change, a location change or any sort of change, but don't know which steps to take next, first start thinking in terms of emotions. How does this next step make you feel? Empowered? Free? Loved? In awe? Positive? Inspired? Productive? In charge?
Listen to your gut here, and don't limit yourself. When you think about how you want to feel, it helps you rise above the current circumstances towards your best interest. Then trust when you have more of a direction that the universe will help you out. And when I say limits too, I mean don't limit yourself by not trying something you worry won't work. Finding out what doesn't work for you is as equally important as finding out what does.
Another way to snap out of boredom and dissatisfaction might be just good ol' physical activity. Take a walk in a place you've never been before. Explore. Let the X factor of what's outside your immediate surroundings get a little say. You might take a short trip. If you can afford it, maybe sit down while you are bored and start planning out something that would be fun for you. Also, leave your cell phone at home or off sometimes!
Whatever you decide, the more you start taking the time to build and experiment with who you really are, the more you are walking into that next chapter of yourself. Or maybe the next chapter of a moment where you are feeling a little more engaged and connected with yourself.
