My Run-in with Hexagram 47
Okay, let me tell you about this one time I got Hexagram 47 from the I Ching. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, let me tell you.
I was working on this project, felt like I was hitting my head against a brick wall for weeks. Nothing was moving forward. My boss was breathing down my neck, the team was getting frustrated, and honestly, I was just completely drained. Felt like being stuck in mud up to my neck. You know that feeling?
So, one evening, feeling pretty low, I decided to consult the I Ching. Just needed some kind of perspective, anything. I did the whole routine, tossing the coins, writing down the lines. And boom, Hexagram 47, Kùn. Oppression, Exhaustion. Figures, right? It felt less like guidance and more like the universe just stating the obvious. Thanks a lot.
It basically described exactly how I felt. Trapped, no way out, resources running thin, energy just gone. The text talked about being in a difficult spot, like water dried up in a lake.
So, what did I do? Well, the hexagram didn’t magically fix anything. That’s not how this stuff works, in my experience. It did make me pause, though.
- First, I stopped trying to force things quite so hard. Clearly, banging my head wasn’t working.
- I took a step back and just looked at the whole mess. Tried to see where the actual blockage was, not just the symptoms.
- Talked to the team again, but this time, more about just surviving the current pressure, less about grand solutions. We focused on small, achievable things for a bit.
- I had to accept that progress was going to be slow, painfully slow. No quick fixes were coming.
It was tough. There were days I still felt completely overwhelmed. The hexagram mentioned something about holding true to yourself even when things are grim, keeping your inner strength. So, I tried to just keep showing up, keep doing the work, even when it felt pointless. Didn’t complain much, just kept my head down and chipped away at the problem.
What Happened Eventually
Slowly, very slowly, things started to ease up. We found a workaround for one major issue. Then another small breakthrough happened. It wasn’t dramatic. No sudden reveal or celebration. It was more like the mud level finally started dropping an inch or two.
The project eventually got done. It wasn’t perfect, and it took way longer than anyone wanted. But we got there.
Looking back, getting Hexagram 47 wasn’t pleasant, but it was accurate. It didn’t give me an answer, but it did sort of validate the struggle. It made me realize I wasn’t imagining how bad it was, and that sometimes, you just have to endure, conserve your energy, and trust that the situation won’t last forever. You just gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when you’re stuck in the mud.
