Today: In danger, be like water – from the I Ching

In a time of danger, be like water.  Do not try to extricate yourself from the situation.  Rather, be adaptable.  You are likely not alone in your circumstance.  Recognize small things that you can do together with others that will improve and increase the common well-being.
Selfless service brings out the best in people who amplify small gestures through their gratitude and inspiration.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
Water reaches its goal by flowing continually. It fills up every depression before it flows on. The superior man follows its example; he is concerned that goodness should be an established attribute of character rather than an accidental and isolated occurrence. So likewise in teaching others everything depends on consistency, for it is only through repetition that the pupil makes the material his own.
When we are in danger we ought not to attempt to get out of it immediately, regardless of circumstances; at first we must content ourselves with not being overcome by it. We must calmly weigh the conditions of the time and be satisfied with small gains, because for the time being a great success cannot be attained. A spring flows only sparingly at first, and tarries for some time before it makes its way into the open.
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. The time of INCREASE does not endure, therefore it must be utilised while it lasts.

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Today: I Ching

Author: harinam

Yogi, teacher, healer

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