56 旅 The Wanderer
Judgement
You are a traveler, a stranger, someone passing through with no place of your own. In this situation a small advance is possible, and it is a good sign if the traveler stays firm and upright. Far from home you have no networks or guarantees: only your conduct protects you. Be discreet, mind your manners and do not step in where you are not called. Ask yourself how you want to behave when nobody knows you.
Image
Fire on a mountain: the flame rises and does not stay, like the traveler. The wise person uses wisdom and caution in applying penalties and does not let lawsuits drag on. A false step in foreign land costs dearly, and long conflicts wear you out. Ask yourself what dispute you could close soon and without wounds, before it holds you where you do not want to be.
Lines
Line 1
You are a traveler who busies yourself with petty things and so draws more misfortune. When you are out of place, feeling small is understandable, but treating what you do as petty sinks you further. Doing the minimum is not a strategy. Ask yourself whether in this stage you give your attention to what truly matters or to trifles.
Line 2
You arrive at your lodging, you carry what you need to live and you have good, loyal helpers. It is a secure situation within insecurity: you have a roof, resources and support. Make use of it and look after those who help you. Ask yourself who holds you up in this stretch, and whether you have thanked them.
Line 3
You burn your lodging and lose your helpers. However firm and upright you want to be, you are in danger. This is what happens when, from pride or haste, you destroy what supports you in a place where you have nothing else. Ask yourself what support you are mistreating.
Line 4
You are in a place to rest, you have your resources and the ax, and still you say: "I am not at ease." You are safe and do not feel at home. Sometimes the journey is not calmed by comforts. Ask yourself what you lack to feel at peace here.
Line 5
You shoot at a pheasant: you lose the arrow, but in the end you may receive praise and an important post. You lose something small to gain something great. Accepting a small cost with good aim may open a bigger door. Ask yourself what small loss you would accept in exchange for what you truly seek.
Line 6
A bird burns its nest. The traveler first laughs and then cries out. They lost the docility of the ox too soon and too easily. That tends to end badly. Ask yourself whether the lightness with which you travel has made you lose the humility that protected you.
Reflection
- How do you want to behave when nobody knows you?
- Who holds you up in this stretch, and have you thanked them?
- What small loss would you accept in exchange for what you truly seek?