I ching

I Ching Hexagram 22
Bi (Grace)

Action: Accept

Hu Gua (hidden influence) 40 Liberation: Untangle

Zong Gua (underlying cause) 47 Oppression/Exhaustion: Adapt

When you lose your way,
life always hands you a map that says: ‘you are here.’

If a man carefully examines his thoughts, he will be surprised to find
how much he lives in the future. His well being is always ahead. —Emerson

Reading at a Glance: The master said: “untangle the knots and soften the glare.” This means if you stalk life with a scowl expecting difficulty, you will find it. When meeting Oppression we had the opportunity to learn to Adapt or make changes to better fit in with the changes around us, but now it is time to connect with your inner source of light. Grace is an attitude of Acceptance that radiates outwardly as joy regardless of what is unfolding around you. Anxiety and constant worry can make you unattractive both inside and out. You can cover yourself with nice clothes and possessions but if the scowl remains you remain unattractive. The hidden influence of Liberation from worry is at the heart of Taoism because if you are following life on its terms with an Accepting attitude you will discover more and lose less. The greatest lesson Bi teaches you is that no amount of outward adorning will ever conceal what is going on inside of you. If you want to attract others to you, begin within. Loving the self makes one loving. Accepting the way makes one accepting. When you have no preconceived expectations you will open to the beauty of Grace. Brilliant inner beauty is like a magnet that others can’t resist. If circumstances are less than favorable, turn within and release the expectations that are making your outlook hardened. Take a breath and return to the moment. You may have the opportunity for Grace to shine down upon you where your wish is granted.

Open

what is closed -

Light the darkness.

Grace is the life

of the lifeless.

“Fire at the foot of the Mountain: the image of grace.” Seasons can change gracefully or destructively; either way, nature’s behavior cannot be classified in terms of good and bad. We build homes in what was once a desert, irrigate our gardens during times of drought, and wonder why the trees in the hillside catch on fire. The seeds of higher elevation plants actually require fire for regeneration.

In the image of how things are valued, the master said: “the Way is benevolent and excels on bestowing.” Through wildfires, nature accomplishes new growth by removing old growth. Although you may put labels of value on experience, you sometimes cannot see how “good fortune perches on apparent disaster.”

Mountains and islands are created by the violent shifting of tectonic plates; nature paves the way for renewal through fire, floods and landslides. Living within a sliver of time in geological terms, we erect our structures on an ever-changing landscape. Since the beginning of its existence, the earth has always been very much alive.

Obstruction ‘in here’ is often overcome through the breaking down of what we cling to ‘out there.’ Over time, you will recognize all experience as the graceful way that life leads you where you need to be. Pi is translated to mean ‘because;’ and suggests that life doesn’t happen to you, it happens because of you.

“One, who is open to the Way, will gladly embrace it. One, who is not open to it and told about it, will laugh out loud at it.” Similarly, one, who is crying might not realize how life nourishes the unseen garden within through tears. Something has yet to grow and in this case, awareness must evolve before value can be found in the experience.

Bi is a message about seeing the silver lining: “who knows what is good and what is bad?”

“Once a farmer’s mare ran away and afterward, his neighbor came by to console him. The farmer said: "Who knows what is good and what is bad?” The next day the mare returned with a stallion and the neighbor congratulated him. The farmer responded: “Who knows what is good and what is bad?” The following day the farmer’s son was thrown from the stallion and broke his leg and again the neighbor consoled him. “Who knows what is good and what is bad,” said the farmer. Within the same week, the army came to conscript the farmer’s son, who was dismissed because of his broken leg. The neighbor finally agreed: “Who knows what is good and what is bad?”

The Mountain has a Fire within it, like a volcano where pressure accumulates and demands release. You can emulate grace and open joyfully, or you will find that events will force this energy out of hiding. Whenever you become lost, life hands you a map that says: ‘you are here.’

Grace works to soften the vicissitudes of your emotional states. As you grow older, the sharp edges of extremes are made softer by experience. All that remains is the light of understanding, which grows within and illuminates the eyes. Capturing your journey of a thousand miles in this way, no matter the trial, everything always works out.

The monuments you build to commemorate the past can become prisons. In proportion to your unwillingness to leave them, you will experience the power of grace. If you measure the vicissitudes of life, all things become equal over time. Grace is a message of optimism without judgment or the silver lining you have yet to see. On the pathway, you will discover: it is all good.