Which path to take? 40.3.5 > 28

[foreverendeavor]

Hi,

Earlier this week, my landlord gave me an eviction notice. It's under the table, so no tenancy agreement was signed and I basically have no rights in this situation. (I'm renting a room.) My landlord has agreed to pay me back a full month's rent if I move out at the end of the month.

I've been feeling...burnt out. I've been following a path for nearly a decade now, and have recently become quite disillusioned with it. It started as a vision, and I have forsaken many friends and some family members in pursuit of it. It didn't begin on good terms, and it sort of feels like I've left the nest with a broken wing looking to mend it and am getting to the point where it's becoming increasingly difficult to fly - and perhaps returning to the nest to lick my wounds would be a wise move. However, the nest (my parents' place) was, at the beginning of the journey, identified as dangerous (which I'm not certain is true.)

I've just recently started a job that I'm not very qualified for and was given to me through friendship, and I'm not sure if I want to continue with it - I'm starting to feel very disconnected from myself and my purpose, and my mental health is suffering.

I'm not really sure if I want to continue renting rooms to work at a job I'm not entirely satisfied with either. I have very few social connections, but I have a few projects that I'm working on (I'm in therapy and play drums in a band - but I don't know if I can trust my bandmate.)

I asked the I Ching two questions at first(unfortunately I did not save them on Clarity.)

1 - What if I stay down here in the city, keep my job, and just look for another room? (I don't make enough to afford my own place) and got 38.4 >41.

Wilhelm:

Isolated through opposition,
One meets a like-minded man
With whom one can associate in good faith.
Despite the danger, no blame.

If a man finds himself in a company of people from whom he is separated by an inner opposition, he becomes isolated. But if in such a situation a man meets someone who fundamentally by the very law of his being, is kin to him, and whom he can trust completely, he overcomes all the dangers of isolation. His will achieves its aim, and he becomes free of faults.

This to me says that I have isolated myself in pursuit of my vision, and that staying in therapy, doing the work and nurturing the few friendships here that I have is the only way to make it work.

2 - What if I moved back home with my parents? (in the interior, 4-5 hours away) to regroup? and got 33.5.

Wilhelm:

Nine in the fifth place means:

Friendly retreat. Perseverance brings good fortune.

It is the business of the superior man to recognize in time that the moment for retreat has come. If the right moment is chosen, the retreat can be carried out within the forms of perfect friendliness, without the necessity of disagreeable discussions. Yet, for all the observance of amenities, absolute firmness of decision is necessary if one is not to be led astray by irrelevant considerations.

Now, contradicting the other line, this seems to state that retreating/withdrawing from my current situation would be beneficial. This could also be interpreted as retreating from the idea of going home, too.

I asked, "what do I do?" and got 62.6.

Wilhelm:
Six at the top means:

He passes him by, not meeting him.

The flying bird leaves him.
Misfortune.

This means bad luck and injury.

If one overshoots the goal, one cannot hit it. If a bird will not come to its nest but flies higher and higher, it eventually falls into the hunter's net. He who in times of extraordinary salience of small things does not know how to call a halt, but restlessly seeks to press on and on, draws upon himself misfortune at the hands of gods and men, because he deviates from the order of nature.

I interpreted this as following my current path is akin to "beating a dead horse" or Icarus flying too high towards the sun upon wings of feathers and wax, and that if I don't retreat now I will plummet to the Earth regardless.

I then asked my final question, "Which path do I take?" and got 40.3.5 > 28.

Line 3:
Wilhelm:

If a man carries a burden on his back
And nonetheless rides in a carriage,
He thereby encourages robbers to draw near.
Perseverance leads to humiliation.

This refers to a man who has come out of needy circumstances in to comfort and freedom from want. If now, in the manner of an upstart, he tries to take his ease in comfortable surroundings that do not suit his nature, he thereby attracts robbers. If he goes on thus he is sure to bring disgrace upon himself. Confucius says about this line:

Carrying a burden on the back is the business of common man; a carriage is the appurtenance of a man of rank. Now, when a common man uses the appurtenance of man of rank, robbers plot to take it away from him. If a man is insolent toward those above him and hard toward those below him, robbers plot to attack him. Carelessness in guarding things tempts thieves to steal. Sumptuous ornaments worn by a maiden are an enticement to rob her of her virtue.

Line 4:
Deliver yourself from your great toe.

Then the companion comes,
And him you can trust.

In times of standstill it will happen that inferior people attach themselves to a superior man, and through force of daily habit they may grow very close to him and become indispensable, just as the big toe is indispensable to the foot because it makes walking easier. But when the time of deliverance draws near, with its call to deeds, a man must free himself from such chance acquaintances with whim he has no inner connection. For otherwise the friends who share his views, on whom he could really rely and together with whom he could accomplish something, mistrust him and stay away.

I'm not really sure how to interpret these lines. I'm getting that the I Ching is hinting towards retreat to the interior (my parents' place) for now and mend those relationships, but I also struggle with anxiety and am trying to avoid a confirmation bias, as I would very much like to retreat - I'm just not sure if it is REALLY in my best interest.

Sorry for the massive wall of text. I would greatly appreciate any and all feedback in regards to interpreting these lines.

Thank you

 

[Liselle]

My take on the first two readings is Yi's saying either option is fine. I wonder if the first reading might also mean the job will work out in time?

Hilary's translation:
'Opposed, alone.
Meet an inspiring man.
Joining together in truth and confidence.
Danger, no mistake.'

Could the "inspiring man" be the friend you got the job from? Or someone who'll help you find a new room?

Yi does acknowledge how alienated you feel: "Opposed, alone," and "Danger," but the rest of it sounds promising to me.


I think rhe third reading reflects that you hadn't understood the first two. You hadn't gotten the message that either option will be okay.


How to decide, if Yi's saying either option is okay? Could you give everything more time? If moving home is an option now, it'll surely still be an option later, and meanwhile maybe you'll settle in at work.

You'll have to move house regardless, so that's possibly less of a deciding factor. If you go home you could skip finding a place, but again, the first reading seems to say that'll work out.

I was about to suggest that if you ask another question at some point, maybe something like, "Yi, on what basis should I make this decision?" or "Overall guidance for deciding / proceeding?" might be good - but I wonder if that's what the fourth reading already is...

I'll copy Hilary's commentaries for those two lines, in case it helps:

--- oh wait. What is the fourth reading? You wrote "40.3.5 > 28" but you pasted different lines after that.

 

[foreverendeavor]

Hey Liselle,

Thanks for your input - I'd say that's a fair take. The "inspiring man" is definitely the friend who got me the job. We've become very close friends and sort of are helping each other accomplish each other's goals.

You make a very good point. It wouldn't hurt to give it more time and see where things lead - home will always be there and maybe work will settle in. I've been looking for places and I've got one viewing that seems promising.

Sorry, I posted the wrong lines for Hex 40 - it was late!

I asked, "Which path do I take?" and got 40.3.5 > 28.

Line 3:
If a man carries a burden on his back
And nonetheless rides in a carriage,
He thereby encourages robbers to draw near.
Perseverance leads to humiliation.

This refers to a man who has come out of needy circumstances in to comfort and freedom from want. If now, in the manner of an upstart, he tries to take his ease in comfortable surroundings that do not suit his nature, he thereby attracts robbers. If he goes on thus he is sure to bring disgrace upon himself. Confucius says about this line:

Carrying a burden on the back is the business of common man; a carriage is the appurtenance of a man of rank. Now, when a common man uses the appurtenance of man of rank, robbers plot to take it away from him. If a man is insolent toward those above him and hard toward those below him, robbers plot to attack him. Carelessness in guarding things tempts thieves to steal. Sumptuous ornaments worn by a maiden are an enticement to rob her of her virtue.

Line 5:
If only the superior man can deliver himself,
It brings good fortune.

Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest.

Times of deliverance demand inner resolve. Inferior people cannot be driven off by prohibitions or any external means. If one desires to be rid of them, he must first break completely with them in his own mind; they will see for themselves that he is in earnest and will withdraw.

 

[Liselle]

Here's how Hilary translates 40.3:

'Shouldering a burden while also riding in a carriage
Invites the arrival of robbers.
Constancy, shame.'

Hers seems to allow a little more for the possibility that the mismatch could go either way - it's not good to either:
1. ride in a carriage when your proper place is to shoulder burdens yourself
or
2. the other way around: needlessly carry a burden when there's a carriage available to you

I think I might gravitate towards option 2 in your case? The first two readings seem to reassure you that whatever you do, it'll work out okay - which seems to remove a burden and give you a carriage (or at least one functional roller skate), rather than adding more trouble.

And your other line in the 4th reading was 40.5, which is really encouraging:

'A noble one, bound, is released.
Good fortune.
There is truth towards small people.'

I think the two lines sound nice together. Here's Hilary's commentary for line 5:

The noble one is not truly trapped: she can find a way to express herself even within constraints, because they never touch her essential self. Simply by being who she is, regardless of opinions or circumstances, her presence communicates freely and powerfully with others. She can reach and convince even those who lack that quality of imaginative freedom, and restore sincerity even where people are hidebound by rules and roles.

Chicken soup for the discouraged, alienated soul. (Or something like that.)

 

[moss elk]

I've been feeling...burnt out. I've been following a path for nearly a decade now, and have recently become quite disillusioned with it. It started as a vision, and I have forsaken many friends and some family members in pursuit of it.

Would you care to briefly talk about the vision and the path you are on?
I think it may help us to better help you.


Which path do you take?
40>(28)
We see Liberation (untying/freeing)
and/from a situation that is too intense
It just looks like it is time to get out of this situation. (and the landlord has already made the decision)

I'd like to offer a third possibility for line 3:
it can refer to behaviours one might call 'jungle' or 'street' or 'ghetto', poverty's survival mechanisms or a desert dwellers fixation on finding water, that one is still carrying with them, when they don't need to anymore.