There are five I Ching cards sitting on my bookcase.
Out of 64 cards, five jumped out at me…or I should say, they were pulled by a vivacious one year old who was visiting my home with her mother.
It was a chilly Saturday morning and we all took a walk to get breakfast and “baby mimosas” (Perrier and orange juice). Once we arrived back to my place to eat, the little girl and her mom took naps while I wrote, daydreamed or worried about one thing or another.
Before they rested, we joked about the child being a young Oracle (s/o to Ms. Angel Bat Dawid) because she loved to pull decks of cards. The box of my I Ching cards seemed to be in her reach for some reason. The amusing part was that the little one always seemed to pull the messages we needed…while creating a big mess of the rest of the pile all over the floor.
In this particular pile that fell from her tiny hands were:
KOU –
ENCOUNTER
Above – Heaven Below – Wind
Ruling Lines – Second and Fifth
“You are about to encounter temptation and meet with forces that will try to deter you from your path. Question all that comes before you at this tie an trust nothing at face value.”
__________________
FENG –
PROSPERITY
Above – Thunder Below Fire
Ruling Line – Fifth
“Enjoy the fruits of your labor. This is a time of great wealth and prosperity.
Remember – it won’t last, so put something aside for a rainy day. Enjoy”
__________________
LIN-
APPROACH
Above – Earth Below -Lake
Ruling Lines – First (bottom) and second
“You can now start to move forward, to reap the harvest of your work. Celebrate, but with caution. Winter is over but the spring is barely here. Tread softly for a while still.”
__________________
CHIEH
RESTRAINT
Above – Water Below – Lake
Ruling Line – Fifth
“You have to know your limitations – and stick to them – or you will only get frustrated. Stop aiming high and settle for what is within your grasp – then enjoy it.”
__________________
TA CHUANG
THE POWER OF THE GREAT
Above – Thunder Below – Heaven
Ruling Line – Fifth
“As long as your are acting in your own best interests nothing can go wrong. You will achieve great good and fortune just so long as you are clear wise and determined.”
__________________
I look at these cards from time to time and reflect on them. I guess because of the messages that were printed on them, I at least slightly knew to take heed for the future.
Sure enough, very soon after the cards were placed on my bookshelf, I found myself walking through a war torn community. I’ve never been shy about being a nice blend of naive and bullheaded, so it took some time for me to realize I stood with myself and a handful of faithful humans in a battle. I found it quite unfortunate. I found it bewildering as well, but I had no time to make sense of anything. Some say I am the cause of my own war. I am willing to hear that, but I will no longer internalize it.
I will no longer engage in any sort of violence, whether it be verbal, physical, psychological or emotional. If an army against me grows larger, even after my pleas for privacy and health, I have decided to ignore them.
I cannot control others, but I what can do is control myself. I can believe in and trust who I am at my very essence and core. No one, no matter how close or intimate can reach a place within myself that is who I truly am.
____________________
I’ve been told time and time again, “Bad things happen to good people.” I don’t know if it is about being good or bad, but it is about being accepted. I think people should be able to live among one another without peril, particularly in a country of plenty like our own. That is an idealistic statement.
There has never been a day where I haven’t been complex – and I like complex people. I like people who express their emotions and I like people who tell me the truth without judgment, because the things I have gone through in my life, there is no way for me to judge another because I have seen people at their worst.
Life is made up of many hurdles and lessons to be learned. There will be times where hurdles will seem “too high to get over and too low to go under,” so you have to stand, rest, speak, be silent, communicate, stop, go, love who loves you – but, in my opinion, taking sides is never helpful in surviving a test.
I am behind everyone. I support opposition and I support connectivity. I support unlikable people and I support consistently sweet, helpful people. Life is what is.
THE ART OF WAR says:
These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.
__________________
Who is the Commander? Does it matter when it comes to life or death? So, without my undermining or diminishing the wounds I have obtained, I continue to be blessed.
The I Ching, on the chilly Saturday in late winter, quietly let me know that a time such as that time was on the way.
Maybe I did not gird myself as well as I could, but I kept my heart in the right place. Some are made for battle, others are made to survive it, some go to the hills and pray, some hide, some try to reason, some fight, and some don’t survive at all. I honor those lost and respect that I am still here and should take the time to focus on that more.
In the end, I know everyone is a reflection of myself, and I clear away the pain within myself. I hope my troubles will subside. I have no desire to control anyone else, but we all have the right to peace.
Spring and the I Ching
They teach you about seasons that come and go in strong person’s life.
Blessings to all who are strong.
And I hope the ones who are strong help the meek.