Waiting Well

You've done everything you can, and the answer still hasn't come. How do you spend the wait?

Original

需：有孚，光亨，貞吉，利涉大川。象曰：雲上於天，需。君子以飲食宴樂。九三：需于泥，致寇至。

In plain words

Xu (Waiting): with good faith there is light and flow; steadiness brings good fortune; it is good for crossing the great river. The Image says: clouds have risen into the sky (but no rain yet): Xu. The noble person, seeing this, eats, drinks and keeps the heart at ease. Line 3: waiting in the mud invites the raiders.

Key words

需xūTo wait; also “to need,” “not enough yet.”
飲食宴樂yǐn shí yàn lèFood and drink for the body; ease and enjoyment for the mind.
泥níMud: the spot nearest the water, where waiting most easily goes wrong.

Reading it step by step

After the shoot appears and the warp is set, there's often a blank stretch. The application is in, the manuscript is sent, the tests are done, and there's no news. Xu (Waiting) is about that stretch.

First: why wait? Because the danger is in front. Xu has Qian (Heaven, strength) below and Kan (water, danger) above. The Tuan commentary says, “Xu means to wait: the danger is ahead.” Strong people hate waiting; they think they can push through. But ahead lies a great river, and you don't swim it by force. The judgment ends: “good for crossing the great river.” The river will be crossed, when you're ready and the time has come. Waiting is not giving up. It's saving your strength for the crossing.

Second: there is near waiting and far waiting. The six lines read like a path down to the river. Line 1 waits in the open fields, far from the water: keep to your routine and all is well. Line 2 reaches the sand; people start to talk, but by staying centred it ends well. Line 3 steps into the mud and “invites the raiders”: trouble you called in yourself. The closer the result, the more anxious we get and the more mistakes we make: checking email ten times a day, phoning to chase, venting online. The Image's comment on line 3 gives a two-word cure: serious and careful. Be serious with yourself, careful with others, and you won't fall.

line 1 · fieldsfar from the water: keep your routine

line 2 · sandsome talk: stay centred, ends well

line 3 · mudinvites raiders: be serious and careful

line 5 · food and wineeat well, rest well: good fortune

The closer the result, the calmer you need to be.

Third: “eat, drink and be at ease” isn't a party. Seeing clouds risen but no rain, the noble person “eats and drinks and is at ease.” It sounds like a holiday. The old commentators were practical: food builds the body, ease settles the mind, and you live an ordinary life until your time comes. Line 5, the best line of all, is “waiting with food and wine; steady, good fortune”: you keep eating well, and make sure those around you eat too. Only a fed body and a calm mind can hold up when it's finally time to cross.

Back to today. The airport announces a two-hour delay. Some passengers storm the desk; afterwards it's still two hours, only now they're worn out. Others find a seat, eat a bowl of noodles, read a few pages, call home. Same plane, different people. Waiting for news at work is no different. Instead of asking “will it happen?” eight times a day, treat these weeks as a supply stop: sleep, move, learn something small, be with your family.

Rest is for walking further.

One line to carry

While you wait, feed body and mind.

Today's question

What news are you waiting for? Are you in the fields, on the sand or in the mud? How could you eat well and settle yourself these next weeks?

Quick check

What is Xu's line 3, “waiting in the mud invites the raiders,” warning about?

Next pageHead Off the Quarrel at the StartPage 11

II · When Something Begins — Hiding, sprouting, waiting, heading off conflict: going up step by step

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