The past 25 years have been bad. I don’t have much time left.

[editorneal]

The subject sums my position up. My question to Yi was, and is, “what does my future hold in store?” My response was 24.1 to 2.

 

[IrfanK]

The subject sums my position up. My question to Yi was, and is, “what does my future hold in store?” My response was 24.1 to 2.

Ah, that feels sad.

Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.

If you are really contemplating the end of your life in old age, then I think this line might be referring to your death as a "return." Returning to God? To the Earth? To the Source? All that depends on your own spiritual beliefs. I think the "short distance" is the Yi's way of saying, in the greater scheme, the life of an individual is short, without great significance. And, in old age, the best thing to do is to accept that fact, not rail against it.

And that message is greatly reinforced by the relating hexagram. Earth. The Receptive. Acceptance. In particular, look at 2.1, the line to which 24.1 points.

When there is hoarfrost underfoot, solid ice is not far off.

To me, that suggests the inevitability of the changing seasons. Winter will come, but the cycle will continue.

It is a sad reading, but poignant and melancholy.

Acceptance. Look it in the face, and accept it.

PS. I hope I have the courage to do the same when the time comes.

 

[Matali]

The subject sums my position up. My question to Yi was, and is, “what does my future hold in store?” My response was 24.1 to 2.

Hello,
24.1 – 2: return to reason There is no catastrophe in this line. I see your last post and you say that your life is wonderful, that your wife loves you... 24.1 Come home, come to your senses before there is freezing... Your mind, your thoughts accompany your day, your life. Don't let your thoughts darken your day...

 

[Trojina]

Neal, there's been a few threads now where you intimate how bad things are and that you and your loving wife are moving to new location next year. On this thread you never returned to acknowledge replies

Am I ever going to be happy and free?

I’m married. Everything is wonderful, she’s constantly saying “I love you” and is pleasant except I feel like I’m under surveillance, we are never physically intimate, my wife spends her hours at home teaching on line, and we live in a hick hellhole in Virginia full of religious zealots, white...

www.onlineclarity.co.uk

.....perhaps you forgot about it. Nonetheless effort and genuine concern goes into replies so it's good to go back if possible.

Your title says you don't have much time left? Having given us that very disturbing title ,well people are going to wonder what you mean? It seems to hint at either terminal illness or thoughts of suicide? I hope it's not either of course and I realise both are private matters, you do not need to explain your illness or anything like that. But the thing is you have already said in the title you don't have much time left and so in my view it is helpful to respondents who may be alarmed by this to give a bit more information as how respondents are impacted is of concern IMO also.

 

[Liselle]

Trojina points out your upcoming move - I'll second that idea. It seems to fit the line - a renewal that's not terribly far away. You and your wife might really like it there.

If so, the fan yao might acknowledge there are a few months of winter to slog through first, if you're someone who doesn't like winter.

24 in general is actually a turning point - and a turning point is actually the low point if you think about it - but upwards from there. The moving line is your most direct answer, and it says keep your eyes on the not-too-far-away future.


But unfortunately Yi isn't quite set up to say "Don't worry; you'll love the Canary Islands " in so many words, so that's a guess. In which case Irfan and Matali's perspectives are good to think about.

 

[rosada]

24.1 Finding your way home after a short time away.

As your question did not specify a time frame for exactly what you meant by “the future” , I read this as a comment on your over all life path and maybe as a comment on everyone’s ultimate life path, that is, that after a brief sojourn in physical form we all will eventually 24.1 Return to our (heavenly) home and 2. Rest In Peace.

”We are all just walking each other home.” - Ram Dass

 

[Trojina]

My comment re the Canary Islands wasn't connected to the reading.

24.1 is simply saying you haven't gone far wrong, you return to usual ways quite soon. So if you have hit a slump in mood it will pick up soon.

 

[editorneal]

Hello all. I apologise for being so late in replies. I’m juggling a lot of things that eat up my day. I will address each of your perceptive and caring insights this evening. Again, thank you.
p.s., I’m neither suicidal nor terminally ill.(knock on wood & turn around 3 times)!

 

[editorneal]

Neal, there's been a few threads now where you intimate how bad things are and that you and your loving wife are moving to new location next year. On this thread you never returned to acknowledge replies

Am I ever going to be happy and free?

I’m married. Everything is wonderful, she’s constantly saying “I love you” and is pleasant except I feel like I’m under surveillance, we are never physically intimate, my wife spends her hours at home teaching on line, and we live in a hick hellhole in Virginia full of religious zealots, white...

www.onlineclarity.co.uk

.....perhaps you forgot about it. Nonetheless effort and genuine concern goes into replies so it's good to go back if possible.

Your title says you don't have much time left? Having given us that very disturbing title ,well people are going to wonder what you mean? It seems to hint at either terminal illness or thoughts of suicide? I hope it's not either of course and I realise both are private matters, you do not need to explain your illness or anything like that. But the thing is you have already said in the title you don't have much time left and so in my view it is helpful to respondents who may be alarmed by this to give a bit more information as how respondents are impacted is of concern IMO also.

Hello all. I apologise for being so late in replies. I’m juggling a lot of things that eat up my day. I will address each of your perceptive and caring insights this evening. Again, thank you.
p.s., I’m neither suicidal nor terminally ill.(knock on wood & turn around 3 times)!

I am clinically depressed and on medication for it. However, I’m isolated because my wife teaches online from early morning to late evening and we presently live in an undesirable location where making friends isn’t easy and basically impossible because of the cultural and political barriers that poison life in parts of the USA. I spend my days sorting possess and furniture to sell, and I’m overwhelmed by all the books, papers, etc. because I could use some help and can’t get any. I’m hoping that when we finally get out of here that things will get better and that we will be able to actually live like humans again. I’m guilty of ruminating about things that bring me down. We’re also both 69 years old, thus my comment about not having much time left. I’m sure I sound whingy and pathetic and I apologishe for that. I only sought some insight into whether things would ever get better. Lacking any help and no input, I feel helpless.
Hello all. I apologise for being so late in replies. I’m juggling a lot of things that eat up my day. I will address each of your perceptive and caring insights this evening. Again, thank you.
p.s., I’m neither suicidal nor terminally ill.(knock on wood & turn around 3 times)!

 

[IrfanK]

Hey Neal, I'm glad you came back and responded. I was a little bit worried that my interpretation might be a bit too grim. Although when I look at other people's responses, I can see that they are quite consistent with my response -- it's just a matter of scale.

I've certainly had brushes with clinical depression over my life, although no recent serious episodes. So, I have some sympathy. It's really not very helpful for people to say things like, Just look at your life! You have all these good things going for you! Snap out of it! In fact, that kind of thing can make you feel worse. You end up feeling bad about feeling bad. I don't have any good reason to feel this way, so it must be because I'm a bad person. And so it goes on, an infinite regress.

Often, when I see people asking questions on this forum, I think they are asking in the wrong place. People who don't have experience with depression don't tend to understand it well. The only thing people on this forum have in common is an interest in the Yi. That is no guarantee that they will be any better qualified to talk about this kind of thing. Great that you have a therapist. Listening to a depressed person can be exhausting for other people, even if they love you, let alone a bunch of strangers on a forum. And you do have to have some sympathy for their incomprehension. But that's a therapist's job. They get paid for it. If that's not enough, there may also be good support groups online.

Of course, you should feel free to come here with your readings to ask for help interpreting them. Just be aware of the limitations of asking on a forum like this.

I'm always very wary of giving advice to people who are suffering depression. What works for one person doesn't work for another. Funny, I'm a long-term meditator, and I think it's helped me deal with my depressive tendencies. But I'm very cynical about the recent tendency for doctors to start prescribing it. It works if you have an inclination and are open to it. I don't think it would work if a nurse practitioner passed you a pamphlet and said you should do it.

But depression does respond to behavioral changes, even if not very quickly. All sorts of things, apart from or as well as medication (which never did me any good!). Exercise, good diet. Avoid social media and the news, refrain from alcohol, weed and smoking. Even Yijing studies and consultations. Even with those things, some people could argue, say that they need their weed or that consulting the Yi just makes them ruminate more.

It is often about faith in the future. Do things that you know will do you good, even if it doesn't make you feel much better that day or that week. Trust that over the long term, there will be an impact.

I remember during my worst period, I'd wake up at three in the morning, unable to get back to sleep, my head full of dark thoughts. I'd lie in bed, turning them over, and then finally drag myself out of bed at about nine. I'd think I should start work, but I was too exhausted. So, social media and the news. Which invariably made me feel worse. Finally, I'd collapse with exhaustion and sleep, perhaps until two. And then feel miserable that I'd wasted so much of the day. I remember deciding one day that there was no point lying in bed. I got up and set off walking at about four, walking for a few hours at random across the city, sometimes for 15 or 20km. It's quite good to have to pay attention to your surroundings, to avoid falling into drains and getting squashed by a truck, it's much harder to think dark thoughts while you're out walking. It's also good to see the sun rise and the sky above you early in the day. By about nine, I'd be totally exhausted. I tried to end up near a train station, so I could come home quickly. I'd fall asleep exhausted, then wake up at about 11. Then I could do four or five hours work. It was still a bit dysfunctional, but a lot better.

Well, it worked for me. Things turned around. Like I said, I'd be very wary about telling anyone else that they should do that. I imagine the NHS making everyone get up at four and marching around an oval. Haha. Half of them would probably go home and shoot themselves afterwards.

But you can find your own way of dealing with it.

Return from a short distance.

 

[hilary]

This -

Often, when I see people asking questions on this forum, I think they are asking in the wrong place. People who don't have experience with depression don't tend to understand it well. The only thing people on this forum have in common is an interest in the Yi. That is no guarantee that they will be any better qualified to talk about this kind of thing. Great that you have a therapist. Listening to a depressed person can be exhausting for other people, even if they love you, let alone a bunch of strangers on a forum. And you do have to have some sympathy for their incomprehension. But that's a therapist's job. They get paid for it. If that's not enough, there may also be good support groups online.

Of course, you should feel free to come here with your readings to ask for help interpreting them. Just be aware of the limitations of asking on a forum like this.

- is spot on. Thank you for posting it!

 

[editorneal]

Hey Neal, I'm glad you came back and responded. I was a little bit worried that my interpretation might be a bit too grim. Although when I look at other people's responses, I can see that they are quite consistent with my response -- it's just a matter of scale.

I've certainly had brushes with clinical depression over my life, although no recent serious episodes. So, I have some sympathy. It's really not very helpful for people to say things like, Just look at your life! You have all these good things going for you! Snap out of it! In fact, that kind of thing can make you feel worse. You end up feeling bad about feeling bad. I don't have any good reason to feel this way, so it must be because I'm a bad person. And so it goes on, an infinite regress.

Often, when I see people asking questions on this forum, I think they are asking in the wrong place. People who don't have experience with depression don't tend to understand it well. The only thing people on this forum have in common is an interest in the Yi. That is no guarantee that they will be any better qualified to talk about this kind of thing. Great that you have a therapist. Listening to a depressed person can be exhausting for other people, even if they love you, let alone a bunch of strangers on a forum. And you do have to have some sympathy for their incomprehension. But that's a therapist's job. They get paid for it. If that's not enough, there may also be good support groups online.

Of course, you should feel free to come here with your readings to ask for help interpreting them. Just be aware of the limitations of asking on a forum like this.

I'm always very wary of giving advice to people who are suffering depression. What works for one person doesn't work for another. Funny, I'm a long-term meditator, and I think it's helped me deal with my depressive tendencies. But I'm very cynical about the recent tendency for doctors to start prescribing it. It works if you have an inclination and are open to it. I don't think it would work if a nurse practitioner passed you a pamphlet and said you should do it.

But depression does respond to behavioral changes, even if not very quickly. All sorts of things, apart from or as well as medication (which never did me any good!). Exercise, good diet. Avoid social media and the news, refrain from alcohol, weed and smoking. Even Yijing studies and consultations. Even with those things, some people could argue, say that they need their weed or that consulting the Yi just makes them ruminate more.

It is often about faith in the future. Do things that you know will do you good, even if it doesn't make you feel much better that day or that week. Trust that over the long term, there will be an impact.

I remember during my worst period, I'd wake up at three in the morning, unable to get back to sleep, my head full of dark thoughts. I'd lie in bed, turning them over, and then finally drag myself out of bed at about nine. I'd think I should start work, but I was too exhausted. So, social media and the news. Which invariably made me feel worse. Finally, I'd collapse with exhaustion and sleep, perhaps until two. And then feel miserable that I'd wasted so much of the day. I remember deciding one day that there was no point lying in bed. I got up and set off walking at about four, walking for a few hours at random across the city, sometimes for 15 or 20km. It's quite good to have to pay attention to your surroundings, to avoid falling into drains and getting squashed by a truck, it's much harder to think dark thoughts while you're out walking. It's also good to see the sun rise and the sky above you early in the day. By about nine, I'd be totally exhausted. I tried to end up near a train station, so I could come home quickly. I'd fall asleep exhausted, then wake up at about 11. Then I could do four or five hours work. It was still a bit dysfunctional, but a lot better.

Well, it worked for me. Things turned around. Like I said, I'd be very wary about telling anyone else that they should do that. I imagine the NHS making everyone get up at four and marching around an oval. Haha. Half of them would probably go home and shoot themselves afterwards.

But you can find your own way of dealing with it.

Return from a short distance.

Thanks!

 

[Liselle]

Seconding Hilary's thanks, Irfan.

 

[Atalanta]

Have you ever heard the phrase: "the cover up is worse than the crime"?

24.1 suggests to me the person who specifically avoids that fate. Who is able to say "oops, my mistake" right away rather than letting their pride turn that molehill into a mountain.

So for me the Yi is saying, hey its not as dire as it seems, whatever the problem is, once you get over the initial hurdle of facing up to it the fix will be relatively simple.