The image here is of a longhaired figure cruising along on a Segway, and smashing through a fence to get where he wants to go. In his path in front of him is a crab (I initially thought it was a turtle). The time is indefinable... it's dark, full of stars and a crescent moon... but the sun is inexplicably still up.
Ok, I have to confess - this was the card that made me decide I wanted this deck. A few years ago, on my job, I got a chance to test out a Segway (way back before anyone knew what they were), and when I saw this card, I had to laugh.
The thing about the way the Segway works is that, once you learn how to use it (which takes a very short amount of time), it almost seems to operate telepathically - the balancing mechanism adjust itself through very minute shifts in you feet, just as we do naturally to maintain our balance while standing. Forward motion is handled by leaning forward slightly, slowing down by leaning back, ever so slightly. So, in just a few minutes of getting used to it (the primary issue with them is that there is an initial instinctive attempt to resist that responsiveness.. we're not used to tools that seemingly read our thoughts and respond before we've consciously decided to do something) and trusting that it won't topple over when we get on or off - the balancing act it does while stationary is almost magically - learning to use the Segway is mostly about unlearning our knowledge about the limitations of mechanical devices.
It's not the perfect tool... as the trainer explained the day we were cruising around the parking lot learning how to ride, it handles puddles and icy patches about as well as we would on foot - which often is not very well at all.
And I sure wouldn't try crashing through a fence with it.
But that aside - it can get you somewhere as fast as you could go running, without the attendent weariness, and if you are in a situation where you'd be wearing body armor and needing to move fast without getting worn out (the reason why we were testing them), they can be extremely useful. They are able to make a difficult task into one that is seemingly effortless, so you have more energy for doing the real work once you're there.
So, with this card, you've got it all together - even the sky is not the limit, with everything celestial available all at once. This guy doesn't accept limitations - he apparently doesn't even see them, as he looks straight ahead to where he wants to go, smashing through barriers as if they don't exist.
There is some hazards in this attitude - did that fence really have to be destroyed? Was its destruction worth not finding a detour? And that poor crab - emotional concerns - is about to get run right over and I don't think he's even paying attention to that possibility.
Advancement is a good thing... advancement without regard for consequences, not so much. And while a nearly telepathic vehicle that feels effortless is a lot of fun, the surest way to fall off is overconfidence and failure to notice slippery patches in the path ahead.
Great post. Good to see you up and running again, hope the headache eases soon. Sharyn/Quirk
Posted by: Sharyn | Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 09:53 AM