PATIENCE & INNER STRENGTH
The rain will come in its own time. We cannot make it come; we have to wait for it.
STRENGTH WITHIN; danger in front.
Strength in the face of danger does not plunge ahead but bides its time, whereas weakness in the face of danger grows agitated and has not the patience to wait.
Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal. Such certainty alone gives that light which leads to success. This leads to the perseverance that brings good fortune and bestows power to cross the great water.
One is faced with a danger that has to be overcome. Weakness and impatience can do nothing.
Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness with himself.
It is only when we have the COURAGE to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized.
This recognition must be followed by PERSISTENT ACTION!
For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water; he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger.
Category: The I Ching (book of changes)
I-Ching (Book of Changes) Pt. 1
There is depicted here a ruler, or influential man, to whom people are attracted. Those who come to him he accepts, those who do not come are allowed to go their own way. He invites none, flatters none—all come of their own free will.
In this way there develops a voluntary dependence among those who hold to him. They do not have to be constantly on their guard but may express their opinions openly. Police measures are not necessary, and they cleave to their ruler of their own volition.
The same principle of freedom is valid for life in general.
We should not woo favor from people. If a man cultivates within himself the purity and the strength that are necessary for one who is the center of a fellowship, those who are meant for him come of their own accord.
The head is the beginning. If the beginning is not right, there is no hope of a right ending. If we have missed the right moment for union and go on hesitating to give complete and full devotion, we shall regret the error when it is too late.