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31 – Thirty-One Hsien / Attraction
The joyous Lake is cradled by the tranquil Mountain: The Superior Person takes great satisfaction in encouraging others along their journey. He draws them to him with his welcoming nature and genuine interest. Supreme success. This course leads to marriage. SITUATION ANALYSIS: There is no greater natural law in the Cosmos than Attraction. From the magnetic pull of an atom’s nucleus to the centrifugal force that spirals a galaxy, the face of the universe is shaped by Attraction. On a human scale, it is Attraction that fuels procreation and furthers our species. Yet it is also Attraction that spawns greed and covetousness, threatening our extinction. Attraction is the underlying force of the situation in question. You are refined or debased by the objects of your desire. What gravitational pull are you now under? Around what sphere of influence do you circle? Can you use your own ability to attract?Nine in the third place means: The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.
‘The Three Graces’ – Peter Paul Rubens c.1636-1638 Museo del Prado, Madrid Spain
Every mood of the heart influences us to movement. What the heart desires, the thighs run after without a moment’s hesitation; they hold to the heart, which they follow. In the life of man, however, acting on the spur of every caprice is wrong and if continued leads to humiliation. Three considerations suggest themselves here. First, a man should not run precipitately after all the persons whom he would like to influence, but must be able to hold back under certain circumstances. As little should he yield immediately to every whim of those in whose service he stands. Finally, where the moods of his own heart are concerned, he should never ignore the possibility of inhibition, for this is the basis of human freedom.