Author Archives for Ellen

Nourishment

I wish you all a joyful time next week. Alone, or with friends and family.

I’m taking a short break. I will be back on Monday 31 December.

Enjoy the solstice! And the full moon! And the falling stars!

Salute!

5. Hsü / Waiting (Nourishment)

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

All beings have need of nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this one must wait. This hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to refresh all that grows and to provide mankind with food and drink. The rain will come in its own time. We cannot make it come; we have to wait for it. The idea of waiting is further suggested by the attributes of the two trigrams–strength within, danger in from. Strength in the face of danger does not plunge ahead but bides its time, whereas weakness in the face of danger grows agitated and has not the patience to wait.

THE JUDGMENT

WAITING. If you are sincere,
You have light and success.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal. Such certainty alone gives that light which leads to success. This leads to the perseverance that brings good fortune and bestows power to cross the great water. One is faced with a danger that has to be overcome. Weakness and impatience can do nothing. Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness [with himself]. It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water–that is to say, he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger.

THE IMAGE

Clouds rise up to heaven:
The image of WAITING.
Thus the superior man eats and drinks,
Is joyous and of good cheer.

When clouds rise in the sky, it is a sign that it will rain. There is nothing to do but to wait until after the rain falls. It is the same in life when destiny is at work. We should not worry and seek to shape the future by interfering in things before the time is ripe. We should quietly fortify the body with food and drink and the mind with gladness and good cheer. Fate comes when it will, and thus we are ready.

THE LINES

Nine in the second place means:
Waiting on the sand.
There is some gossip.
The end brings good fortune.

The danger gradually comes closer. Sand is near the bank of the river, and the water means danger. Disagreements crop up. General unrest can easily develop in such times, and we lay the blame on one another. He who stays calm will succeed in making things go well in the end. Slander will be silenced if we do not gratify it with injured retorts.

Six in the fourth place means:
Waiting in blood.
Get out of the pit.

The situation is extremely dangerous. IT is of utmost gravity now–a matter of life and death. Bloodshed seems imminent. There is no going forward or backward; we are cut off as if in a pit. Now we must simply stand fast and let fate take its course. This composure, which keeps us from aggravating the trouble by anything we might do, is the only way of getting out of the dangerous pit.

° Nine in the fifth place means:
Waiting at meat and drink.
Perseverance brings good fortune.

Even in the midst of danger there come intervals of peace when things go relatively well. If we possess enough inner strength, we shall take advantage of these intervals to fortify ourselves for renewed struggle. We must know how to enjoy the moment without being deflected from the goal, for perseverance is needed to remain victorious.
This is true in public life as well; it is not possible to achieve everything all at once. The height of wisdom is to allow people enough recreation to quicken pleasure in their work until the task is completed. Herein lies the secret of the whole hexagram. It differs from Chin OBSTRUCTION (39), in the fact that in this instance, while waiting, we are sure of our cause and therefore do not lose the serenity born of inner cheerfulness.

Six at the top means:
One falls into the pit.
Three uninvited guests arrive.
Honor them, and in the end there will be good fortune.

The waiting is over; the danger can no longer be averted. One falls into the pit and must yield to the inevitable. Everything seems to have been in vain. But precisely in this extremity things take an unforeseen turn. Without a move on one’s own part, there is outside intervention. At first one cannot be sure of its meaning: is it rescue or is it destruction? A person in this situation must keep his mind alert and not withdraw into himself with a sulky gesture of refusal, but must greet the new turn with respect. Thus he ultimately escapes the danger, and all goes well. Even happy turns of fortune often come in a form that at first seems strange to us.

30. Li / The Clinging, Fire

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE

This hexagram is another double sign. The trigram Li means “to cling to something,” and also “brightness.” A dark line clings to two light lines, one above and one below–the image of an empty space between two strong lines, whereby the two strong lines are made bright. The trigram represents the middle daughter. The Creative has incorporated the central line of the Receptive, and thus Li develops. As an image, it is fire. Fire has no definite form but clings to the burning object and thus is bright. As water pours down from heaven, so fire flames up from the earth. While K’an means the soul shut within the body, Li stands for nature in its radiance.

THE JUDGMENT

THE CLINGING. Perseverance furthers.
It brings success.
Care of the cow brings good fortune.

What is dark clings to what is light and so enhances the brightness of the latter. A luminous thing giving out light must have within itself something that perseveres; otherwise it will in time burn itself out. Everything that gives light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it may continue to shine.
Thus the sun and moon cling to heaven, and grain, grass, and trees cling to the earth. So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is right and thereby can shape the world. Human life on earth is conditioned and unfree, and when man recognizes this limitation and makes himself dependent upon the harmonious and beneficent forces of the cosmos, he achieves success. The cow is the symbol of extreme docility. By cultivating in himself an attitude of compliance and voluntary dependence, man acquires clarity without sharpness and finds his place in the world.

THE IMAGE

That which is bright rises twice:
The image of FIRE.
Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness,
Illumines the four quarters of the world.

Each of the two trigrams represents the sun in the course of a day. The two together represent the repeated movement of the sun, the function of light with respect to time. The great man continues the work of nature in the human world. Through the clarity of his nature he causes the light to spread farther and farther and to penetrate the nature of man ever more deeply.

Published on December 21, 2018 at 6:00 by

Wednesday 19 December 2018

In the morning i have an appointment with Ronald. He works at the garden of the Kinderparadijs (Children’s Paradise). It looks wonderful! I love the hedges made of wooden branches, around 80 centimeters wide. The shed is cleaned up. So many tools, two pizza ovens and quite a few electrical tools. The little pond besides the insect hotel. The small space below the wooden wall made in the hope hedgehogs will find the garden. The cauliflowers growing fiercely.

I film Ronald. Twice. We talk about saving the world. Working in the garden. And many other things.

Last week i discovered a vegan chef Gaz Oakley with his youtube channel avantgardevegan. I have picked his lasagna as my dish for next week around Christmas. I am not vegan myself, so i did think about choosing meat or vegan. I have decided to go for the vegan meatsubstitute, but do the béchamel sauce with butter and some cheese. I did buy some smoked paprika powder today. I do enjoy watching the many recipes of avantgardevegan, the seitan, tofu, tempeh, beans and chickpeas he uses.

I am actually starting to think about veganism more the past few weeks. Difficult to be honest. Ever since i lived on my own since 1985 i have eaten vegetarian and vegan meals regularly, but i never switched completely. It is not clear to me yet. I need more time. Way more time.

I took a month’s free Netflix account yesterday. My second free trial account since last year around this time. Last night i watched the first three episodes of The Rain, a Danish dystopian series. Maniac, Sabrina, Bird Box and many more i have added to my list. Will do a search for posts about worthwhile series and documentaries to watch.

This afternoon i will do a machine wash, fold some clothes that have been hanging over chairs in my living room for weeks. I will vacuum clean my house. Maybe i will start mending the duvet cover, the edge is loose over a meter wide. I will drink tea with a bit of chocolate. And watch some youtube clips and netflix a bit more. Yay!

Published on December 20, 2018 at 6:00 by

The quiet

I’m gonna take a short week of vacation next week. Looking forward to that. Christmas time. One day i will be going to my mother. The other day i will stay at home. Taking care of my own cat Muis and of the two cats from Pieter and Mary down the road.

Tomorrow i will have my last filming of a friend. And then i will start editing. I already a few things i will change. But i will have a week and a half of watching, changing small things ahead of me. Yeah i’m nervous. I hope it will turn out right. Of course i wish that i will be great. Wonderful. But also close to me. Small. Bright.

I don’t know.

I will fight for it. I know that. The months ahead.

See you tomorrow. Salute!

Published on December 19, 2018 at 6:00 by

Nervous

A quiet day in the garden, there were only two people there. One of them was me. Together with Hilde we spread most of the old wood chips in the paths around the apple trees. I also filmed her. Really happy with that. We talked a bit about relationships, being in love, intimacy.

I need to calm down. Get quiet. Find my rest. And work. Of course. Two more weeks. Two more weeks of filming and editing.

Salute!

Published on December 10, 2018 at 6:00 by