23.6

[meng]

I think that..

Melancholy can be a good kind of anchor, such as in 62: realizing the importance of what is low. Or it can be a ball and chain, such as in 47.1. So it depends how melancholy functions and works with the time, and with the overall being.

Going along on the trail of what you said earlier: people who experience no melancholy at all can be cold, lacking compassion and empathy, being unable to identify with those who experience it.

Too much melancholy too often is a chronic condition, and that can't be healthy. Sometimes the only way to clear out gunky melancholy and other clingy morose emotions is through shock. I had just such an experience recently. A good case of 40. http://www.yijing.nl/candid/blog.htm

 

[meng]

Something else about melancholy, Jilt, that I was thinking about while walking this morning. I think it's possible to be too sensitive, empathic and compassionate for our own well being and survival.

What made this thought strike home to me came from a large, dark coyote, which crossed the road in front of us, no more than 10 yards away, just barely visible in low early morning light. He would not be a very happy or healthy coyote if he was busy feeling compassion for the rabbit he was hunting for breakfast.

So considering all this, I'll offer hex. 60 as an answer to your question.

:bows:

 

[maremaria]

He would not be a very happy or healthy coyote if he was busy feeling compassion for the rabbit he was hunting for breakfast.

So considering all this, I'll offer hex. 60 as an answer to your question.

Yes, sometimes over-compassion may lead to straining oneself. 60 is a good way to keep balance, assign each things its own size or weight . From my own experience sometimes there is a conflict of how much compassion can one show to another. There is a fine line between compassionate and egoistic behaviour and what is ethical or unethical is not always correctly weighed. Is it ethical to be less companioned towards somebody else and take care ourselves ? And how some people forget to feel the same compassion they show to other for themselves ?

 

[maremaria]

btw, which is the difference between 15 and 60 ?

 

[meng]

btw, which is the difference between 15 and 60 ?

Do you think 15 might also be a good answer in the sense of moderation? Yes, I think it can too. But the difference between them, as it might apply here, is that 60 not only speaks of balance and equalizing proportions but of organizing distinctions, finding a place for everything. So it is not only a balance but specifically how that balance is achieved. For example, one might wish to balance their career with their family time, and that would be a 15 example. But arranging or organizing their time, to moderate it, would be a function of 60.

 

[maremaria]

That’s a very helpful example ! Thank you.
The 24 hour of the day is the initial 60 limitation. So, one has to find or define a good proportion (15) of how wants to allocate both personal and professional needs. Then one has to brake the day in small proportions and put each thing in its place. Here 60 comes again to assist the system work in a efficient way. Maybe 15 is also a complement to 60.