Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

337 Destiny

   The measure of what you can achieve is within yourself. How you fare compared to someone else is not important. Instead of contending it is better to concentrate on doing and to put all your powers and talents into it. Then your accomplishments will be your own and worthy of your pride.

338 One clear plan

   Some things simply happen, and it is useless to fight against them, like fighting the rain or fighting time. If you cannot accept the flow of life it will just exhaust you. Do your best to reckon with it when you make plans but leave it at that. It is how the immortals manage to live so healthy and so long.

339 Two yin one yang

   When someone tries to take charge without the necessary power or wisdom, everything will deteriorate. The same happens when natural followers don’t acknowledge a born leader. When the need to appoint a ‘boss’ arises, it is a sign that the natural and harmonious order has been disrupted.

340 A pair of swallows *

   Nature gives and nature takes. Human creations are temporary, even fame which lasts for centuries will fade eventually. Nature is timeless, she works in cycles. She takes back what had its time but supports everything which follows cycles. Imitate her whenever possible.

341 Lamentation

   Find the real cause of things. Complaining is only useful to make things visible. Once they are, then recognize what is really happening and take the right measures. Some things are beyond your grasp, but other things can be handled by you. Maybe it will not save you, but it will save your honor.

342 Master Liu *

   When you have a wonderful encounter or find yourself in a beautiful place, then don’t blindly answer to habit or duty. Is this important enough to forsake those habits and duties for the time being? This moment will not return, if you let it go, it is gone. What is most important to you?

343 The ferry of salvation

   Sometimes life is so hard, or mistakes so big, that the only solution can be found in what is bigger than the everyday world. Where guilt returns to before the end of innocence, and life is a gift instead of a burden. Close to the origin of all values, to eternal gods and symbols and rituals.

344 Self-sufficiency

   Small steps can cover long distances, small amounts can grow into large quantities. If you master the art of letting the small work for you, you can survive most anything or anywhere. It can be done with things, with words, with feelings, with gestures. Many small things become one sturdy big thing.

345 Home

   As long as everything is easy, being far from home might be no problem. When trouble hits, people are nasty or the weather is awful, then suddenly home seems so beautiful. Or the other way around, you long for home and ‘far-away’ begins to look gloomy. Home has its own special place in your heart.

346 One arrow

   When people have to leave the plow and saddle up for war, they need very different skills in order to succeed both in fighting and in surviving. So widen your skills beyond the ones you need for what you do now. When circumstances change, and they always will, you should be ready.

347 Everything has its measure

   No need to ponder or worry about things which move along in their own pace. It is useless to make them speed up or change course. The more you go along with them, the more peace you will find. Things will go smooth if you allow both yourself and them to move at their own pace.

348 A gentleman does not hate

   As long as your emotions and surroundings govern you, they dictate your moods. If all things are to you like the clouds, they exist without changing your emotions. When they affect your moods, you are alone, when they don’t, you are part of all there is. It is less exciting, but it will be larger and all yours.

349 A quiet stream

   When things take a turn for the better, then turn with them, concentrate on the future and don’t look to the past anymore. If you carry regrets or worries with you into this new time, you will just interfere. Good fortune is not only outside, it is very much inside yourself as well.

350 Fast like the wind

   If you are in a place where you are not happy, then do anything you need to do to reach better pastures. The stronger your wish, the faster and farther you will be able to go. The place where you are will affect a large part of your life. So tackle the dangers, endure the hardships, it’s worth it.

351 Vulture and hawk

   A prediction of unparalleled success. There is a ‘but’ though - you need to get the timing right, and you need to put all your energy into it. There is no success without a reason for it, and this time it is certainly not just a lucky strike. So, go for it, soar as high as you can get, may sky and moon assist you.

352 Cat and mouse

   If there is trouble, then find the right remedy or helper. It takes experience or insight to distinguish between the people or things which cause problems and the ones you need for solving problems. Finding the right one and discarding the wrong one is what you have to bring in yourself.

353 “Dé, achieve”

   This is a character-riddle rather than a useful answer. It is like that sometimes. The oracle gives an answer, an image, even a meaning, but it is not possible to draw any understanding from it. So the only thing you can do is what it literally says: achieve. Do what you should do, and do it well.

354 Smart merchants

   Adapt to the time. Sometimes strong action works, other times careful planning or hiding is better. Choosing the wrong attitude might even be dangerous, especially when being conspicuous calls up suspicion. Take the safe course when in doubt, not calling too much attention to yourself.

355 Destination (see story 259)

   If you have a dream, then find out where to search for its realization. Consult an oracle, ask your intuition, or go for a pilgrimage, a real one or in your imagination or on a divination board. When your mind finds itself in unfamiliar places, you will encounter clues, help and inspiration.

356 Healing herbs

   Good fortune needs your efforts to come to fruition, you cannot sit back and expect miracles. If you need anything, or something went wrong, then do something about it. Help yourself or find the right help, and the gods will join in. They will open your intuition and give suggestions or hunches.

357 Just do it

   There is a big difference between thinking and worrying. Thinking about a problem can be useful, worry never is. It pulls you down and takes your energy away. Overrule dark thoughts by doing something which engages your mind. Even small chores are an effective remedy against worries.

358 Focus

   Success depends on skills like courage, intelligence, authority and the ability to oversee a situation. But one of the most important skills is the art of concentration. To focus on a goal, on a wish, or on a duty. The relentless pursuit which never falters. It makes the difference between good and best.

359 Heaven cares

   It seems for ascetism one has to give up a lot. Most people don’t know that the rewards are much larger than anything lost. Heaven gives those who serve it intangible jewels, insight in many things unknown to others, peace of mind, deep happiness, unselfish love, and the truth of their Dao

360 Fish on the mountain

   If you don’t have any strategy in your undertakings, they will amount to naught. Working hard is fine, but you need a direction and a sensible road to reach a goal. So, use your brain, get information, gather what you need, look at possibilities, all before you start and from there right to the end.

361 A wooden fish

   It is wonderful to have high ideals, but you also need to live. Being up in the clouds all the time might very well starve you. With common sense and awareness of your surroundings you can take care of your needs, and certainly of those who depend on you. Ideals should be part of reality and vv.

362 Water and fire

   Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Fire and Water, they are the grand complementary forces which create the world and keep it in balance. Honor them and make them the base of everything you do, so your life and creations will have meaning. It is like using the best quality of seeds when you sow.

363 Riding the Jade Hare *

   Humanity invented beautiful values: care, honesty, responsibility, common sense, and much more. But when nature calls, she overrules them all. She has strong drugs to get her wish. The boy who lost his mind, the girl which got pregnant, don’t blame them, they didn’t have that much say in it.

364 Shendao

   If you think there is more to life than the obvious, then search for it. It is a sign that you need those larger values. If you neglect this message, you will never really be happy. Once you start your journey, you will meet others who understand and also innumerable manifestations of those values.

365 The alchemist

   Every matter contains spirit, even a stone stores energies. Bring your own spirit in everything you do, in every fact you encounter, in every thought you entertain. It is the act of creation, giving your breath of life to what you touch. It will still live when you are gone, still enriching the world.

366 A friend who shares your heart

   An understanding audience will bring any artist to a higher level. If you want to create something for others, it is important to find someone who connects with it. It is meant to be shared, and it will start to live when it is shared. Even one single person can be enough to form an audience. (See story 96)

367 The flowers open

   You can watch the spring flowers an entire day. Or you can be active and do something with it. It is your choice. Being or interacting, they are fundamentally different, but both have their merit. One day you choose to be, another day to do. Follow what your heart wants and you will spend your days well.

368 The dragon rumbles

   In old times, Heaven let the people know if the government was good or bad. A bad emperor would cause drought or other disasters. Nowadays it is still a fact, that the right attitude triggers good things to happen. Maybe as a simple result, or maybe there is also a universal resonance. Who knows.

369 Emerging tiger

   Courage and power are no guarantee for success. A simple life lived day after day, without big challenges, has more of a chance to bring happiness than any big undertaking. Knowing how strong you are may make you too careless, knowing how vulnerable you are makes you grateful for what you have.

370 Narrow and wide roads *

   When you go from rags to riches, then how do you deal with it? It is easy to forget your origin, but if you do remember, it will make you grateful. Innumerable stories and myths talk about it, because it is so important. Even in small happenings, a lucky stroke of of one single day, you still should remember.

371 The way of water

   Fire is hot and destructive. But it is water which has the power. Water is relentless, has one single goal, doesn’t resist but circumvents. It is unconquerable because it never fights. It can destroy, because it has no limits. Don’t fight it but learn its way. It is the way to persist.

372 Pass the wine

   You need relaxation from time to time. Not just by doing nothing and resting, but by changing your scene. Being with good friends, having a nice time, doing things you’d certainly not do normally. Having a vacation or letting loose and not bothering about the hangover of the next day.

373 When peace shows cracks

   Before disaster strikes, your intuition tells you. The signs are tiny, so you have to strain your ears and eyes. Refrain from anything which might set it off, stay away from risks, be careful with words, avoid impulsivity. Find out where you are vulnerable. This is not the time to build up anything lasting.

374 The dragon gate *

   It would be great when every success could be accompanied by fireworks. Alas, daily reality is not like that. You get something done, finally - and nothing happens. You’re satisfied but in silence. Then make it happen yourself, jump around, sing or dance, phone a friend and brag. Enjoy!

375 The ancient pine tree

   When something has been made in harmony with Heaven and Earth, with the best materials and with all the time it needed to grow in its own pace, it will be beautiful, strong, proud and last long. It will survive its maker and make his memory linger through ages to come.

376 Fate has been decided

   Reject what is below your ethics. Don’t grovel for the sake of good relations, either business or family. Rebuff gossip, flattery or jealousy. All these things pull you down until your life is without any real value. Whatever the circumstances, everyone’s worth is decided by their integrity.

377 Sacrificing a pig

   Sacrificing your surplus is no sacrifice. Give what you need yourself. It will be a loss, but only then your gift is a genuine one. Similar attracts similar. Your truth attracts the truth of gods, spirits and people. Don’t discount your own spirit, it will find inspiration and it will ascend to great heights.

378 Thinking at night

   In the day one thing comes after the other, and thinking happens in that same way. At night you can linger on a thought, find the overview, the bigger picture. Many things only become clear at night, when nothing disturbs your mind. Make use of this, every evening opening your mind for the night.

379 The east wind

   When the signs of a better time are arriving, then embrace them. After this you can start working on the things which should or can be done in this new time, but for the moment it is important that you welcome it. Every change should be freely celebrated in order to anchor it to positive expectations.

380 Eat sparse drink water

   Give everything the value it deserves. Cherish honest food, care for your body’s health, don’t violate the boundaries of your existence and treat all things and creatures with respect. Your body, mind and surroundings will respond with self-respect and strength.

381 From plowing to harvesting

   Put in all your skills and all your strength. Go on until you succeed. Now is the time to lay the base for the coming years. You will need to know the right time for every part of the work, to listen to nature and her seasons, to organize and motivate, to delegate when necessary. Give it your all.

382 The dragon-snake

   Even when you seem like nothing, there is a core inside with more power than you realize. Recover and start anew, leave all your faults and mistakes behind, and find a new beginning. Let this core be your guide at every step, and you will grow beyond anyone’s expectations, including your own.

383 The nine peaks of Huashan

   When everything is sizzling with energy, and many others have already answered to it, then go on your way as well, before you are too late. Pick your own road, don’t copy another, and use this momentum. Let this wind fill your sails and bring you to new unexplored places.

384 The fruit

   Nobody can be as perfect as Confucius or his favorite pupil Yan Hui. You will always make mistakes or even serious faults. What matters is if you correct them. Looking good is worthless when it doesn’t produce anything substantial, and what you do can only have value if the base is sound.