Thick Clouds, No Rain Yet

You've worked at it for months. It feels close, but nothing has landed. What now?

Original

小畜：亨。密雲不雨，自我西郊。象曰：風行天上，小畜。君子以懿文德。九五：有孚攣如，富以其鄰。

In plain words

Xiaoxu (Small Gathering): there is flow. Thick clouds, no rain, coming from my western fields. The Image says: wind moves across the sky: Small Gathering. The noble person, seeing this, refines learning and character. Line 5: sincere and closely bound to others, he grows rich together with his neighbours.

Key words

小畜xiǎo chùThe small gathers the great: saving up a little at a time; 畜 also means “to hold back.”
密雲不雨mì yún bù yǔThick clouds, no rain: close, but not yet.
懿文德yì wén déTo refine one's learning and character; inner work.

Reading it step by step

Song told us to plan at the start. But even with a plan, and months of work, things can stall at “almost.” Xiaoxu (Small Gathering) paints exactly that weather.

First: one yin line holding back five yang. Xiaoxu has five yang lines and a single yin line in fourth place. Yin is “small,” yang is “great,” and here the small gathers the great: hence the name. 畜 means both “to save up” and “to hold back.” A small force trying to keep a crowd of strong ones together can only gather a little. That's a common stage some months into anything new: a few customers, a few readers, a bit of savings, but not much, and not yet steady.

Second: “thick clouds, no rain.” Close, but not yet. The clouds are heavy and keep rolling in from the west, and still it doesn't rain. In China's geography a west wind is usually dry. The Tuan commentary says the blessing “has not yet been given out”: its time hasn't come. The hardest part is in your head. You can see the clouds, and not a drop falls. Impatience leads to line 3: “the cart loses its spokes; husband and wife glare at each other.” Many partnerships don't break at the start. They break in this “almost” stage.

Third: when the rain won't come, work inward. The Image sees “wind moving across the sky,” and the noble person “refines learning and character.” The old commentators said: in large terms, your character and your ability to get things done; in small terms, reading, writing and craft. All of these need you to sit still. People who read are harder to provoke with a single remark; with something inside, your response is more than a reflex. And when the rain does come, line 5 says “grow rich with your neighbours.” Don't keep it to yourself.

thick clouds, no rain: almost, not yet

refine learning and characterwork inward: read, drill the basics, grow as a person

when the rain comes: share it with your neighbours

Back to today. A small online shop, a new channel, a research project only just begun: months in, the numbers creep. Rather than checking the dashboard every morning, keep a few evenings a week to read one good book on the craft, drill a basic skill, polish the work once more. And remember: in this stage the quarrels most likely to flare up are with the partners and family who are pulling with you.

When the clouds are this thick, rain will come. Until then, thicken what's inside you.

One line to carry

Before the rain comes, work on what's inside.

Today's question

What in your life is at the thick-clouds-no-rain stage? Which basic skill could you work on inwardly while you wait?

Quick check

In the “almost there” stage, what does Xiaoxu's Image, “refine learning and character,” ask of you?

Next pageThe Wild Goose Goes Step by StepPage 13

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

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