Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

145 The power of nature

   You know a lot about life, but do you remember its basics? The way nature works, with storms and disasters, and yet she is the one who nurtures all. Ask rural people, they know. If you learn and use her lessons, you will be stronger, and many will recognize your wisdom and power.

146 Many doubts

   If you want your life to be in balance, then bring yourself in balance. Before you do something, anything, calm down first and whatever comes from you or from outside will reflect that calmness. What you do, what you meet, what you see, your future and even your past and memories.

147 Prepare

   If you make plans and only after that start to realize them, you lose precious time and energy. Start right now with gathering what you love, find information, talk with people, make money, learn what you would like to know. Anything starts with becoming who you really are and crystallizes from out there.

148 Education * (Story after 228

Some things just grow old, others mature. If you encounter something or someone you can help develop, then do so. You may or may not seek profit, but it will always enrich your mind and life. If you yourself can grow, then go for it. Never let anything go to waste, the entire universe itself is made for growing.

149 In its own time

   When you cannot make things happen, cannot even get your own thoughts clear, then you will have to wait until the time is right and assists you. When there are life and energy around you, you go along on the ride. Sun, moon, season or trends can favor some undertakings and disfavor others.

150 Withering flowers

   For big plans or results, you have to put everything you got into it. The greatest results are achieved by those, who have great dedication embedded in their character. They don’t seek a result, they live the road towards it. If the effort scares you, you and anything you do will lack color and energy.

151 Perfection

   Perfection is without life. Everything moves and changes and lives, it is part of its value. It gets damaged, it is used and shows what life and time did to it. A rock tumbles around in the sea and is polished, a hearth gets black and scratched but is the center of a family. Revere the beauty of living.

152 Stop talking start doing

   It is useless to try to stop talking, worrying, or procrastinating if you don’t change the way you look at things. You see them as annoying. Try instead to welcome them as useful challenges, which make your life interesting. Without problems you’d be bored to death, losing your pride and joy.

153 Slow but steady

   The beginning of anything should be done carefully, but without giving anxiety any chance to rule. Search for the right actions and the right direction in a thorough way. Find the information you need and people who can be of help. You have to watch every step when the path is not yet paved.

154 Two sides to everything

   Humanity is not a relaxed kind of creature. A smart mind always sees both sides. It can be a nuisance, but if handled well, it lays the base for a well-run and balanced life. Use this property to your advantage, give others the benefit of the doubt, at the same time never trusting anyone or anything blindly.

155 People of value

   There are always things which go wrong. People deceive, things break down, disasters happen, mistakes abound. Groups, families or humanity as a whole survived despite all that, due to a relatively small number of people who make sure that things are being put back in order over and over again.

156 Timing is everything

   It is very difficult to turn talking into clear plans. Everyone has a different view and some people let emotions overrule logic. You need one bright mind with vision and authority, who can inspire the whole. If there is no such person, then don’t expect anything to come from debating.

157 The rising sun

   Often a little help can be the catalyst for a rise upwards, like the start of a career or a major achievement. Never forget that it needs your input not only to happen, but also to be durable. Often it has to do with others: look for examples and emulate them, prove your worth, maintain relations.

158 Understanding (opposite of poem 207)

   On some days, or even during a longer time, everything goes wrong. It makes one despair. But if there is someone who listens, someone you have a good connection with, then all these troubles don’t overwhelm you anymore. Joy comes back, life is alright again, you can deal with all of it.

159 Stay alert

   Don’t trust it when bad things suddenly turn around and look harmless again. There has to be a reason for them to happen, and if you don’t uncover it, they might return again and rage even worse. Sitting back and feeling relieved will not help, find those invisible reasons and do something about them.

160 The building

   Looking at the height of your task or goal, or whatever you want to achieve, will only scare you off. So don’t. Look at the next step to take, and then take it. You can look down and marvel at how much you did or look up and see your goal again, but don’t do it too often. Enjoy your work in the moment itself.

161 A touch of spring

   Inspiration is a precious gift. If it comes along, then make good use of it. Concentration helps, not letting yourself be distracted. Focus on what you want to achieve. It is easy to think you deserve a break now and then, but be aware of its danger. You lose grip without noticing.

162 May the sun come out

   Finding your way without any support or help from your surroundings is tough. Most of all mentally, being alone and without any exchange, without seeing where you are or where you are going. Strengthen yourself against despair, go on courageously and embrace the challenge.

163 A fragile line

   There are often possibilities or chances. It is grasping them which is the problem. Luck visits many people and even countries, but what happens next is telltale of their skills. Can you pick it up? Can the government convince the people? Some work miracles with one little lucky catch, others lose many.

164 Partnership

   When two people can be equal and embrace each other’s strong and weak points, the connection can be exceptional. There is no fixed leader and follower, each fills in what the moment asks for. It is the most successful partnership possible, every talent and every skill can be put to use.

165 Used and jilted

   Everything new, every beginning, involves many unknowns and uncertainties. Don’t trust easily, and don’t tell anyone what they don’t need to know. Stay in control. The intentions of others may not be in your best interest, and your openness may give others the opportunity to abuse you.

166 Your own road

   It is better to take risks than to stay in a frustrating situation. Things can become very difficult on your own, but at least it will be your own life. You also have the chance to build up something worthwhile – and that too will be your own life. Gather your courage and go for it, get yourself that life.

167 A man with a whip

   When you decide about what you use to reach your goals, do you ever think about afterwards? When the rush is over, when you did reach those goals, how do you feel about it. With pride – or with hesitation? Your conscience will always catch up with you. Except with those who have none.

168 Sunset

   When you grow older, and your partner is either gone or also old, you need strong people. There are many situations which resemble this one. The end of a job, of a commitment, of your health, of motivation. It makes a big difference if there are physically or mentally strong people around.

169 Living now

   There is enough in the world to worry about. So much can go wrong, like it did so often and will keep doing in the future. Keep your mind within your own situation, where it belongs and can be happy. Make that situation itself open and free and wide. And then live it with a free and wide open mind.

170 Don’t regret what is gone

   Almost everything moves in cycles. Things go up, then down, and then again up. The year moves through the seasons over and over again. So, don’t look back, don’t regret what is gone. Live right in this moment which carries new possibilities. If you trust they are in there, they will emerge.

171 Confidence

   Nobody can predict with certainty, which starting enterprise will succeed and which will not. The balance can move either way. So if you can add something, anything, to make it move in your favor, welcome it. A trustworthy helper will be worth his weight in gold.

172 A touch of love

   For matters beyond the daily stuff, you need special guidance. In love, art or spiritual pursuits practical advice is often useless. You need a guide, out there or in yourself, who knows about these things, who can lead the way. Passion is a wonderful force but is not always able to find the road to success.

173 Good and even better

   Everything, living creatures, acts, thoughts, the weather, even the earth herself, has vibrations. They change all the time, and they can resonate, or maybe hinder, or even obliterate each other. So worry only when necessary, and at all other times send out positive vibes. They attract luck and success.

174 Socializing is a skill

   Entering into the world of people is scary because they have opinions, habits and rules. You gather your courage, and then again you lose it. You start to talk and then again you fall silent. Don’t despair, keep trying, learn the rules. It is an important skill to have, it makes life much easier.

175 Heed the danger

   Use the right means for the right task or moment. One should only take a risk in a situation more or less under control. If that is not possible, then take the utmost caution. Unless it is absolutely unavoidable, a risk in an uncontrolled situation is being reckless and irresponsible, asking for disaster.

176 Singing in the rapids

   When everything is in harmony and within your abilities, you catch the wind in your sails without effort. What you do will be like playing, and challenges will add color.

“On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open, and the world is full of beauty.” (Rumi)

177 Hidden treasure

   Many things carry a high value, but they don’t mean a thing unless something is done with them. Love has to be expressed, a diamond has to be cut, a story has to be told. What you do is what really matters, much more than what you are and certainly not what you only claim to be.

178 Connections

   Upper and lower, or big and small, yang and yin, they have to be in balance or else everything will mess up. Boss and employee, reason and intuition, commerce and art, the world consists of contrasts, and life has the beautiful task of connecting it all together, of turning it into a living organism.

179 Smiling in the rear

   If you don’t strive for the first place, you might end up in the best place. The universe is built on balance. Too much flies out of orbit, too little crashes down. The middle road might not be sensational, but it brings the life which fits with you, which brings rest and happiness and space to live.

180 Empty words

   If you want to be part of an interesting living world, you need to learn its language. Don’t listen to fake rumors, to deceiving people, to empty declarations of love. But before you can, you have to learn your own language. Stop with self-pity or believing your own fairy tales. Straighten up.

181 Lofty Míngshān

   Great accomplishments are never a one-sided affair. Rising high is a matter of all aspects of your life being powerful. A clever mind and also rich and deep feelings, strength of character and also love of beauty. High structures need a broad base to stand solid and a full heart not to crumble.

182 Halfway

   Don’t take for granted that getting things on their way will bring them to completion. A large part of all beginnings never reach an end. Halfway they get stuck and perish or linger unfinished endlessly. Hold on to your initial commitment, don’t diminish your efforts until you reach your goal.

183 Stop

   Sometimes both moving and not moving don’t yield anything useful. Then stop. Stand still, stop thinking if possible. Or go for a walk and enjoy the scenery. Or maybe think of something simple and nice. When you feel really calm, you can start again with what you want to accomplish.

184 Meeting a dragon

   First of all you need inner peace. But you are living in the world, and you also need a dragon: your courage and authority, so you can give your life a place of its own out there. Or someone like a dragon might help you. Finding power is not a one-time thing, it has to be done over and over again.

185 Up or down

   Don’t conjure up problems where they don’t exist. A lot can go wrong, but why focus just on that? A lot can go right, and it is better to concentrate on a good outcome and to work on it. And if you still cannot let go of your worries, then realize how much better you feel when you are optimistic instead of low.

186 A path through the clouds

   Those who create their own future can be assured of ridicule and doubt. Those who rely on help from someone already established meet with agreement. Finally you reach ‘already established’ yourself, and then they will cheer. It doesn’t matter, as long as you have reached what you wanted.

187 A wider horizon

   Make yourself free. Don’t lean on others, don’t depend on drugs or habits or praise or on someone’s money. Most of all, don’t be tied sentimentally to anything or anyone or even your own comfort zone. As long as you are, you don’t have the freedom to truly live your own life and to make your own choices

188 Wind and moon

   When things calm down, even if it is only for a short time, then use it to relax and to restore your energy. You need to work hard and to think hard, but you also need to nourish yourself, your body and mind, and don’t forget your heart. It gives you the strength to make a success of your work.

189 Tigers and dragons

   Working hard, having big goals, it will all lead to nothing if you stumble over yourself. Look at nature, or at great people, how they do it. They do what is necessary, they have attainable goals, they use their body and mind in a balanced way. Emulate their way of doing things and you will get results.

190 Medicine for the heart

   Talking about what is bothering you is important. It is not just about being heard, it is most of all about hearing yourself. It is easier to focus your mind when you actually hear your thoughts. Another big help is easy simple distraction. Not thinking for a while and having a good time clears up cobwebs.

191 A message

   Sometimes a rumor or an overheard conversation or a morsel of news or a simple information can be a lifesaver. Listen to your intuition, to people or to signs. If you miss all those warnings or chances, you just stumble around on the narrow base of your own perceptions and limited knowledge.

192 No wish to meet

   When there are no prospects and no freedom for too long, people draw back. They stop hoping or trying to change anything, they just trod on. Those in charge have to change, they have to give back freedom and hope and let people decide about their life. Using your will is food for your mind.