Do not let the sadnesses that permeate the earthly realm get you down. Know that from a higher perspective and a higher plane of thought there is something else that is happening, that other intelligences have your back. Yes, times are hard now and they will get harder but that does not indicate that it is time to give up. It just means that it is time to gather your wits about you, sit quietly and wait. All things change over time and time is in constant motion, thus time and change are always re-intertwining, re-forming and re-newing.
When we clean house, whether mentally, physically in the body, or in our outer reality, we make room for something new to come in. Even the simple acts of letting go of an old idea or vacuuming our rooms can leave us feeling that something has changed. Letting go of something old that no longer serves us, an old habit for instance, can open us up to new possibilities. Stubborn ideas, when let go of, free us to perhaps try some new, more enlightened ideas. A certain sense of freedom and lightness results when we clear out, and thus a moment’s pause in the emptying offers a moment’s pause before we fill it up again that may be life changing. Pause, take a breath, and see what happens!
Stagnation is a normal part of any journey. It’s not unusual to get bogged down at some point, to experience inertia, to flounder and not know where to go next. In such times it is best to accept the time of stagnation as a necessary part of the journey, and to sit with it and wait for clarity to return. Without clarity there is no use in proceeding. Just wait. In the stillness of waiting clarity will eventually emerge. Once clarity returns the journey’s direction will also be clear.
When things are difficult, when the world seems at odds and nothing feels like it is going well, remember that all things change, that time itself will bring changes that will shift the sense of despair and that, as with nature, a new season will arrive. Sometimes change is just a matter of waiting.
Storm clouds are gathering… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
Today, I consult the I Ching with the following: Please provide guidance to navigate the energy of now.
Hexagram #5, Waiting, with moving lines in the first and fourth places, with a future of hexagram #28, Preponderance of the Great, is my answer.
The image of Waiting is water gathering in the sky, a picture of clouds filling with moisture. The obvious inference is, waiting for rain. This can only happen when the clouds have accrued enough density and are thus ready to release their bounty.
Applied to human circumstance, don’t try to push the river. The forces at work here, particularly in nature, are operating on their own schedule.
The moving line in the first place suggests that at present conditions are calm, the impending concern is still at a distance. The guidance suggests that one not exhaust one’s energetic reserves in advance, as this might weaken one’s ability to respond when it truly is time to act.
At the moving line in the fourth place, the storm has arrived. One finds oneself in quite a dangerous, precarious position. The guidance here is to stand fast, to allow fate to take its natural course. By embracing this composure, one is likely to not worsen the situation and, as a result, find the best way out.
The pending danger is more vividly expressed in the image of hexagram #28, a deeply sagging ridgepole, a roof soon to be caving in. This condition is transitory, as collapse is inevitable.
Thus the notion of a major shift, a revolution, is the inevitable consequence of this set of circumstances. The I Ching cautions that this is not to be achieved through forceful measures. The change is a natural and necessary transition, appropriate to the needs of the time.
In a nutshell, we are presently in a time of waiting. At this moment, the energy of major change is still gathering.
Be calm, remain aware, but don’t tax your energy with too much vigilance. The storm will arrive, a major transition will occur; it is inevitable.
Do not act precipitously. Follow your path of heart, regardless of who follows you.
