Today: Do not accept bad faith gestures – I Ching

The time reveals many relationships, in private and public life, that are unfulfilled, unsatisfying and profoundly unhealthy.  It is a situation that is currently front and center in the public eye.
As a remedy, there is a tendency to offer oneself as a prostitute, so that some needs may be met.  The fact that this is happening as a widespread phenomena among public figures serves as an example of what NOT to do.  It leads to the collapse of all common goals and struggles.  If the temptation to accept bad faith gestures for temporary relief from want is dismissed, then the opportunity for growth, expansion and well-being is opened.  More permanent and sustainable options may be pursued.  Catastrophe can be averted.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

Affection as the essential principle of relatedness is of the greatest importance in all relationships in the world. For the union of heaven and earth is the origin of the whole of nature. Among human beings likewise, spontaneous affection is the all-inclusive principle of union.
Every relationship between individuals bears within it the danger that wrong turns may be taken, leading to endless misunderstandings and disagreements. Therefore it is necessary constantly to remain mindful of the end. If we permit ourselves to drift along, we come together and are parted again as the day may determine. If on the other hand a man fixes his mind on an end that endures, he will succeed in avoiding the reefs that confront the closer relationships of people.
A girl who is in a lowly position and finds no husband may, in some circumstances, still win shelter as a concubine.
This pictures the situation of a person who longs too much for joys that cannot be obtained in the usual way. He enters upon a situation not altogether compatible with self-esteem. Neither judgement nor warning is added to this line; it merely lays bare the actual situation, so that everyone may draw a lesson from it.
Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth. When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed. Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of the time. This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings.

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Today: I Ching