Darn those pesky relationship questions!

[acornhill]

Hi all!
I recently received the following 17 -> 24.
Once again it was a relationship question, but not a romance. I have thought about my own interpretation
Following -> Returning.
Being drawn forward, being guided. Then only to withdraw and return. I am not sure what the message is for me. I did look through past archives for some help but did not see these 2 hexs together. For good reason I am sure.
Darn those pesky relationship questions!
Is it possible for a man and a woman to have a platonic relationship if one of them is attracted to the other, but the feeling is not returned?? Or will intimacy and ego always undermind this pair?

 

[candid]

Hi Acornhill,

I think you've hit it correctly. Maybe I can add a tad.

Following implies both, teaching and being led or guided. Both 17 and 24 speak of returning inward. Possibly in this case, its to not wear yourself out with mistaken resistance? 17 commends you for seeking to attain a following but it must come about naturally. Otherwise it would be a coercion tactic motivated by ones own needs. Returning inward to your Tao would provide you with a broad view, without the element of your own personal needs being satisfied. This of its own may draw this other person closer to you. (or, 'following' you) Following is attaining closeness with another or others, not about gaining some sort of authority over them. The same is true in following another or others, whether they be real people, images of deity or both. We are drawn closer but maintain our own nature.

Hope this helps a little.

Candid

 

[anita]

Hi Acornhill,

Candid is right about 17. I think you both follow each other. And 24 to me is all about renewing and rejuvenating a relationship. Makes special sense if he's away and has to return to you.

Best for your Quest

Anita

 

[louise]

I often think 17,4 can mean a situation where the attention and liking of another ( a following) can throw you off balance ego wise if you're not careful. That is one of the people is having alot of admiration coming their way and this is good, but the line seems to warn 'don't let it turn your head' ie don't use this influence to gain advantage or come to rely on it.

I agree with everything Candid said, but I don't think he said it means merely 'following each other' as Anita has said. The line is counselling on the way to handle someones devotion I think. The counsel is if you remain sincere all is well.

Line 5 seems very positive, implying sincerity does shine through.

 

[cal val]

Louise...

That's always been my take on 17. It's about gaining a following, be it a total of one person, be it the Beatles Fan Club, and staying grounded when one has a following.

Val

 

[candid]

Actually, the picture I was trying to express was more like the old Christian phrase: "May the circle be unbroken, by and by Lord, by and by." In the American Indian tradition: The circle of life. And, in ancient Chinese culture: Worship of the ancestors. One follows the others, as in a flock of geese. I did not mean it as two people who follow each other. But then I'm a believer that almost every close (intimate) relationship has a follower and a leader. There is the rare occasion when the role switches, when the follower actually councils and leads the leader, so to speak. But its the exception and not the general rule.

As I see it, each time I lean to help someone, someone is leaning to help me. By myself, I can do nothing. If I'm not connected to the circle or wheel, what happens to me is only a matter of blind-chance - as in the blind leading the blind. But if its an unbroken circle or a wheel, there really is no such thing as blind good or bad fortune. There is mastery of the wheel, and one finds his or her place in the cosmic order, in the infinity of being and in the Great Harmony.

This, I believe is the influence we experience from Yi, whether we realize it or not at the time. Following. If we're not really ready to follow the council, we have mocked the councilor. That's no way to gain a following.

Namaste,
Candid