What's the best thing to do in life right now?

[arabella]

Asking this question: what's the best thing to do with my life right now?.... I cast:
Hex 54.2.4 becoming Hex 24.

Having just foresaken all interests in the man in my life as he was not especially forthcoming; knowing that my rental home is going bye-bye on September 1 as it's being sold and realising that rentals are thin on the ground here and I haven't sold my house to buy a new one, having a job that I've come to terms with but that eats up all my time for slim return, having received another job offer in a country that is nominally at war, having received confirmation that my youngest child will graduate university July and I'll finally have a coin of the realm to call my own ----------- what on EARTH is the Yi talking about here?

Marrying Maiden? I'm not even trying. I can, however, relate to the one-eyed hermit part. Sounds like most nights at my house.

Line Two I take to mean that I haven't got the tools I need to work with, I am working at a deficit, but somehow getting by. All true. Some days I even laugh about it.

Line Four would indicate something improves? Somehow I gain some recognition of what I offer or find a way out at the last minute, past the time I would have expected a solution to surface?

Hexagram 24. Could mean returning to the country I came from? Not likely, there is nobody there I know anymore. Could mean returning to my old profession: practically an impossibility as it is very clique-ish and my connections long expired. Could mean I am in a position to think what I myself want? That's true, but there are still limitations on that. I have family where I am which I would be hesitant to relinquish to just "live the dream" someplace else. What other experience does anybody have of this reading? Any one-eyed-hermits out there?

 

[willowfox]

It suggests the best thing is to do is nothing but wait for life to pick up again on its own accord which as you can see will be around the end of the year.

 

[arabella]

WF, I'm no good at time-oriented readings. Do you see that in the Hex 24? If I'm waiting until year end for some clarity on this I've still got to find a new place to live in the meanwhile, which really muddies the waters since I have to be out by Sept 1.

 

[willowfox]

Remember you asked about the "best" thing to do, and there's not much cooking in that department.

I think you need to listen to line 54.2 as it suggests that you should follow your convictions, therefore you need to take up the gauntlet of moderator once again, commit yourself to what you believe in, you have principles follow them.

Onwards soldier.


As for Hex 24, your time of "renewal" hasn't come around yet, so just be patient as bad times always seem to be much longer than the happy times.

 

[arabella]

Ah yes, somebody was quoting Neruda on here just the other day -- Loving is so short and forgetting is so long. At least the bad seems prolonged.

I utterly hate hanging about in suspense and am famous for doing extremely stupid things just to avoid it. In fact, I have a lapel button somebody gave me recently that says,
"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I'm thinking of making some more."

Good point about asking the "best" thing to do. Hmmmm, I should rephrase that.

Very sneaky, WF with the moderator comment. Thanks for your confidence.

 

[peter2610]

Hex 54,2,4 > 24

Hi Arabella,

Hex 54, Kuei Mei, represents behaviour driven by emotion, desire injuring stability. Lake (Tui) seeking thunder (Chen), essence is disturbed by feeling, externals damage true self. This is the hexagram of seeing the real within the false and reversing injury so that feeling returns to essence - emotions then consolidate stability rather than dictate behaviour.
Even though your question was asked in all innocence, this hexagram is suggesting that your fears and emotions are driving your perception of your situation. This response might seem somewhat harsh but it also implies that things aren't as bad as they seem.
Second yang - 'A one-eyed man is able to see, the perseverance of a solitary man furthers' - situated under the lower nuclear trigram K'an, the abyss, one sees one's outlook here as dark. Having only a single eye indicates that one's perception is compromised, but this is a yang line occupying a central position, hence it has the inner resources to persevere and maintain its path. The Zhi Gua for this line, Hex 51, Shock, represents the disturbing effects of unsettled emotions and thoughts - and the need to maintain balance in the face of adversity - despite the rumbling of thunder he does not drop the sacrificial spoon.
Fourth yang - 'The marrying maiden draws out the alloted time. A late marriage comes in due course' - this could refer to a future partner but it is more likely, in the context of your question, to mean not acting when it is not the time to do so. A yang line in a yin position, without a resonate partner, this is definitely not the correct basis from which to act. Allowing external influences to pass by, you 'accomplish the return' to right from wrong by awaiting the right conditions for your path to unfold. The Zhi Gua for this line, Hex 19, Approach, reflects the sense of moving along with events as they unfold.
Hex 24, Return, I would suggest, in this context, should be taken as the internal process mentioned above - that is the return to correct balance, perception and orientation. It is unlikely, in this context, to have a literal external meaning. Peter

 

[gato]

It is a turning point in your life and:
54.2 changes should be visible. even a one-eyed man can see them
54.3 great things are delayed but have patience

 

[arabella]

Wow Peter, very detailed. I'll need to read that a few times over and let it settle in. Many thanks for giving me so much to contemplate. I think the idea of emotions and fears running the show at the moment is relatively accurate -- although I try hard to keep those in check, the idea of not having a home in a few months along with all the rest to do with career, relationships, etc., is something to take into account day after day.

As you say, it's probably not so bad as I'm thinking, but just the combination of events all at once and the need to take it slowly -- never my strong suit. Meanwhile, I'm hanging on like mad to my sacrificial spoon, believe me!

Gato -- I have that feeling of something building in the background, something beneficial. It's an instinct that rarely goes wrong on me, so I'm hoping it's accurate this time around. If that is visible, even with one eye and at a distance, I'd feel greatly relieved, to think that eventually this situation can right itself. As someone here once said to me, change IS inevitable -- it is the Book of Changes. Appreciate your putting your oar in the water!