Futile Struggle

Confined and Oppressed by stones, you grasp the thorn-vines. You enter your palace and do not see your consort. Trap! The Way closes. You are beating yourself against impossible obstacles, grasping at things that hurt you. You cannot even see your partner who is eager to help. The structure of your life is buckling. Do not be trapped in this pitfall. Sacrifice the old and let in the hidden connections. If you do not add more, your life will soon be crowned anew. Do not be afraid to act alone. You are connected to a creative force.

六三, 困于石, 據于蒺蔾, 入于其宮, 不見其妻, 凶.

A man permits himself to be oppressed by stone, And leans on thorns and thistles. He enters the house and does not see his wife. Misfortune. ##### Comments This shows a man who is restless and indecisive in times of adversity. At first he wants to push ahead, then he encounters obstructions that, it is true, mean oppression only when recklessly dealt with. He butts his head against a wall and in consequence feels himself oppressed by the wall. Then he leans on things that have in themselves no stability and that are merely a hazard for him who leans on them. Thereupon he turns back irresolutely and retires into his house, only to find, as a fresh disappointment, that his wife is not there. Confucius says about this line: If a man permits himself to be oppressed by something that ought not to oppress him, his name will certainly be disgraced. If he leans on things upon which one cannot lean, his life will certainly be endangered. For him who is in disgrace and danger, the hour of death draws near; how can he then still see his wife?