It’s been a morning full of synchronicities for me starting with a not so pleasant memory, one that is a reoccurring memory that holds no real value for me and isn’t worth reliving again and again.

Breaking state, I drew a card from the Osho Zen Tarot deck and lo and behold it was the ‘clinging to the past’ card, which has a clear message to let go of the past and fully embrace the future.

The figure pictured in this card is so preoccupied with clutching her box of memories that she has turned her back on the sparkling champagne glass of blessings available here and now. Her nostalgia for the past really makes her a ‘blockhead’, and a beggar besides, as we can see from her patched and ragged clothes. She needn’t be a beggar, of course–but she is not available to taste the pleasures that offer themselves in the present. It’s time to face up to the fact that the past is gone, and any effort to repeat it is a sure way to stay stuck in old blueprints that you would have already outgrown if you hadn’t been so busy clinging to what you have already been through. Take a deep breath, put the box down, tie it up in a pretty ribbon if you must, and bid it a fond and reverent farewell. Life is passing you by, and you’re in danger of becoming an old fossil before your time!

These tenses–past, present and future–are not the tenses of time; they are tenses of the mind. That which is no longer before the mind becomes the past. That which is before the mind is the present. And that which is going to be before the mind is the future. Past is that which is no longer before you. Future is that which is not yet before you. And present is that which is before you and is slipping out of your sight. Soon it will be past….

I learned in my shamanic practitioner’s course that a message from the universe generally comes in three by way of confirmation that you should definitely pay attention to the message.

In the carpark, at the train station, a fox darted across my view. It came under the fence and into the carpark and trotted right in front of my parked car.

I looked up foxes.

Foxes often embody adaptability, cleverness, and the ability to navigate through difficult terrain, both physically and emotionally. In folklore and spiritual symbolism, they’re sometimes considered tricksters, but not in a malicious sense. The fox’s cunning is more about finding ways to survive and thrive, using intuition and agility. Their presence can signify the need to let go of old habits, perspectives, or even attachments, so you can embrace a more fluid and adaptable approach to life.

That message hit home too, but it didn’t stop there. While browsing magazine rack in the station, I stumbled upon this headline on the cover of Psychologies magazine: “Break Free from the Past.”

Talk about synchronicity…

There’s a wildness, a lightness to this message—a reminder to me that life doesn’t have to be weighed down by what’s behind me. I can lean into the present, adapt, and remain open to what’s before me right now in this present moment.