I Ching Community Discussion Forum: Cradles
Now at last I understand what Hexagram 19, Nearing, can have to do with mourning. This is from LiSe’s post to this thread:
The ‘picture’ of 19 is someone looking down on ‘mouths’. In old texts it is often used for coming down the mountain. I imagine someone, after a long journey, having crossed the last pass, and now he comes down to the valley where his family lives. Deep down there he sees them, tiny, mum hanging up the laundry, grandpa spading the vegetable plot, little child running around with the dog. He loves them without any thought about their being good, or better, or not good enough. Not one demand, only loving them, for the simple fact that they exist.
This way of loving, without any requirement, is the way to be nearest to the other. Someone who loves like this, can be trusted totally.
One of Lin’s meanings is mourning: when someone dies, it is easier to love him/her without any demand. It is a big beautiful way of loving.