Do not grasp for what is dangled in front of you as a quick fix for your longings. Regardless of self perceived deficiencies, your chosen life path will see you through to your destiny. Be strong. Persevere.
#54, line 3, #32
The Thunderstorm inseminates the swelling Lake, then moves on where the Lake cannot follow: The Superior Person views passing trials in the light of Eternal Truths. Any action will prove unfortunate. Nothing furthers.
This is at best a Marriage of Convenience. You have found yourself in desperate straits, a position of weakness, and you are tempted to pay dearly for a remedy.
A drowning man isn’t picky about who throws him a rope. The rescue offered to you now is undesirable. It may pull you out of this sticky situation, but it will cause even greater predicaments down the road. Don’t obligate yourself in this way. You are selling your future for a quick fix today.
A girl who is in a lowly position and finds no husband may, in some circumstances, still win shelter as a concubine.
This pictures the situation of a person who longs too much for joys that cannot be obtained in the usual way. He enters upon a situation not altogether compatible with self-esteem. Neither judgement nor warning is added to this line; it merely lays bare the actual situation, so that everyone may draw a lesson from it.
The Superior Person possesses a resiliency and durability that lets him remain firmly and faithfully on course. Such constancy deserves success.
Endurance is the key to success in this situation. However, durability is not synonymous with stone-like rigidity. True resilience requires a flexibility that allows adaptation to any adverse condition, while still remaining true to the core. Can you maintain your integrity under any circumstance?
Can you influence the situation without giving opposing forces anything to resist? Then you will endure to reach your goal.
