10. Lu/Treading — 26. Ta Ch’u/The Taming Power of the Great
If you’re reading this, chances are we are one and the same. We are trying to bring about great change. For some, it’s personal transformation. For others, it’s social change. For many it is a combination of both. For these purposes, the I Ching is of incredible use. Today, the hexagrams, Lu and Ta Ch’u, remind us what it takes to overcome the grand challenge of our lives. Patience.
Here, we are not simply waiting for things to happen within whatever comfort zone we’ve carved out for ourself. True patience, stillness, composure and poise is developed “in the wild”. To manifest the immaterial, we must perform our alchemy in the world of forms. To strengthen our connection to the great primordial energies, we be able to nurture them amidst the chaos.
Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (left) vs Georgie Benton (source): George Benton is known to be one of the greatest technical and defensive boxers also became a great coach and teacher of the sport.
In boxing, what is practiced through drills, is applied to the opponent. One soon discovers that technical prowess, comes from inner-stillness. This is a quality much different than a passive-relaxation. And it guards against a release of rage and similar forms of emotional imbalance. By cultivating a relationship with your triggers, impulses and urges you lay the foundation of true clarity. Undisturbed by ever-present danger, you are able to tread forward with firmness and flexibility.
Today, I have awareness of what lays ahead of me, more than most days. In my thirst for learning and willingness to immerse myself completely, I realize that I’m pretty awesome at digging these holes for myself lol. I promise to further elaborate at some point on the blog, but here’s what I can say: The easy way never seemed to spark enough of “whatever it takes”. Boredom is a killer to say the least. The journey to self-actualize who I am, and what my “non-negotiables” are has been a long one. At 37, I’m still figuring out a lot. But the home-sickness is real, and I’m FOMOing on the relationships that mean the most to me in the world. My family.
My first Golden Gloves tournament in 2013. I was 33 years old and coming off a concussion sustained during camp. Still in the game today at 37, because seasons change but we keep growing.
I’m taking this reading as a sign to keep pushing forward despite knowing the odds are stacked against me. I’m not gonna bullshit myself about seeing silver-linings in the hardships and failures. I’m just gonna keep failing until I change my response to the failures. Because then I’ll naturally change my response to them, out of sheer boredom.
Stay blessed always,
Lee
