22.1.5 to 53. How to approach a relationship

[barbaloot]

Hi, I have had a friendship with a man for a couple of years and we have a really good connection. I fell in love with him recently. I love him deeply more than anyone I have ever loved.

I asked the i ching what the best approach to take towards the relationship is and it gave me 22.1.5 to 53

He has had some really difficult relationships in the past with women where they have been emotionally abusive towards him. He currently has rheumatoid arthritis and a lot of pain and is grappling with dependence on his opiates. He is younger than me and is unemployed. Thinking maybe some of this might relate to line 5 - that maybe he doesn't feel worthy of me.
Not sure how to interpret line 1 though. Maybe it's saying I should make sure not to place importance on superficial stuff like age and his lack of employment and give priority to the connection between us, because those things are superficial and temporary?
Anyway, any feedback or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[elias]

22 comes with a caution not to get caught up in sparkly things. This is not to say there is no future in the relationship, but rather that your perceptions may be colored by your emotions. In some interpretations this hex describes a marriage and all the anxieties that attend it.

Line 1: I think you have a good reading on this-- It is important to be your authentic self, rather than putting on a front for the benefit of this person. An old Chinese text says this line "represents concealing one's virtues and living a simple life in obscurity, walking instead of riding. This is adorning oneself in righteousness."

Line 5: When in doubt, assume IC is talking to you about you. A further caution not to get caught up in appearances or make much of the disparities of age, income, ability, etc.

Hex 53-- slow progress. S..... l...... o..... w...... Another hex directly addressing marriage. While love and marriage are quite different things in the IC, there are certainly worse hexes to get in regard to your query.