27 頤 Nourishment
Judgement
The mouth takes in and gives out: how you live depends on what you take and what you say. It tends to go well with firmness and integrity. Notice what you want to nourish and use your judgment to find the right food. It is not only food: it is what you read, whom you listen to, what fills you. Ask yourself what you are feeding on, and whether it sustains you or only distracts you.
Image
Thunder under a mountain: something moves in the depths, but above everything is still. The wise person watches their words and regulates with moderation what they eat and drink. The image joins two mouths, the one that speaks and the one that eats: both ask for measure. Ask yourself which words you let slip without thinking and what you take without real hunger, out of plain habit.
Lines
Line 1
You leave your tortoise, a resource that feeds itself, and you stare with your jaw hanging. That is a bad sign. It is the image of someone who neglects what they have by wanting what is another's. Ask yourself which resource of your own you are setting aside while you look enviously at what others have.
Line 2
You look for nourishment by looking downward, against what is proper, or you ask for it from the height above. Moving forward like this leads to a poor result. This is someone who seeks support from one who owes them nothing. Ask yourself where you expect to receive what you need.
Line 3
You act against the method of nourishing. Even if you are firm, there is a poor result: for ten years it may not help to take any initiative. It is a strong warning: some ways of feeding yourself do harm however steady you are. Ask yourself which habit feeds you badly, and what would happen if you paused it.
Line 4
You look downward to draw the strength to nourish, and it tends to go well. Your gaze is firm as a tiger's and your desire leaps from target to target, yet you are unlikely to go wrong. It is desire well directed. Ask yourself what you need so clearly that you feel no shame seeking it.
Line 5
You act against what is regular and proper, but if you stay firm, that is a good sign. This is not the time to cross the great river, to leap into something risky. Sometimes you skip the usual method and it still turns out well. Ask yourself what routine you have broken, and whether you stayed faithful to what matters.
Line 6
Nourishment for others comes from you. Your position is delicate, but it works in your favor, and it can even help to cross the great river. Whoever sustains others carries a weight, and does it with care. Ask yourself whom you feed, with what, and whether that weight is well shared or you carry it alone without noticing.
Reflection
- What are you feeding on, and does it truly sustain you?
- Which words do you let slip without thinking?
- Whom do you feed, and who feeds you?