~ Stick # 35 ~
When Heaven chooses a man for greatness,
It first makes him suffer terribly in body and soul.
Happiness does not come to anyone easily.
There is always a good reason for wealth or poverty.
When Heaven chooses a man for greatness,
It first makes him suffer terribly in body and soul.
Happiness does not come to anyone easily.
There is always a good reason for wealth or poverty.
TRADITIONAL INTERPRETATION
As this fortune says, you will not achieve anything without experiencing a fair amount of worry and suffering along the way. Be careful and discriminating before embarking on a new scheme, but throw all your efforts into whatever you eventually decide to do. Do not be dissuaded by the difficulties you encounter, as you will win through in the end. Try to anticipate problems before they occur so you are prepared to deal with them. Try your best to reconcile yourself with any friends or family you are currently estranged from, and do not be afraid to commit yourself to a relationship.
REFLECTION
Too often we assume today that we have a right to be happy, that nothing is worth struggling for. We assume that if we are not enjoying ourselves we should move on and abandon relationships or situations. But this belief in happiness is so damaging for it leads us to give up before we have even started. You must persevere. The struggle is necessary for a sense of true worth to arise. Stick with it and you will find, perhaps not happiness exactly, but something even better - contentment.
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Each day I sit down, take up the cup of sticks and ask the same question, “What does the Keen community need to know or hear today?” I shake the cup until a stick (or 2 or 3…) falls out. I then post the stick number and the meanings for you to get what you can out of them.
The sticks themselves are a form of I-Ching. There are a total of 64 sticks in the set that I use* with a poem and small interpretation/story to go along with each stick. The poems, meanings and reflections are meant to be read and (as a good friend of mine once said) marinated in. In our culture, we’ve grown accustomed to getting instant gratification. In other words, we’re used to everything being given to us with little or no work on our parts. These readings are the exact opposite of that type of attitude.
Chinese Fortune sticks are meant to make us slow down and reflect on what is being said. As each sticks’ meaning can be profoundly personal to each person who reads them, it’s more important for you to read them rather than have someone give you a watered down version. These readings are meant to sing to a level of your consciousness and bring you a measure of peace, or at least enlightenment.
The best way to get the most you can out of these readings is to approach them with an open mind. Before sitting down to read that morning’s reading, make some quiet time for yourself. Sit still for a moment and clear your mind. Silence the chatter in your head and take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly. Once you feel yourself slow down a little (or a lot), read through the reading of the day. Go over it a few times if you feel the need. Then take a moment, sit back and think about what that reading means for you. Some will be very straightforward; others require a bit more thinking. Either way, let the reading from the sticks guide you that day on the decisions or experiences you have. These aren’t meant to tell you what to think, but rather to help you look at things in a different way or to allow you to access truths you already have.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me!!
* written by Zhao Xiaomin & Martin Palmer