Man, let me tell you about Hexagram 47. You know, the one they call “Oppression” or “Exhaustion.” Sounds pretty grim, right? Well, that’s exactly what I bumped into, head-first, a while back, and it really made me scratch my head, then later, nod it.
I remember this period, everything just felt like hitting a wall. Like running in thick mud, no matter how hard I pushed, things just weren’t moving. Money was tight, projects at work were going sideways, and even simple stuff felt like a huge struggle. Just felt drained, you know? Like all the energy was sucked right out of me. I was feeling pretty down in the dumps, looking for some kind of sign, some direction.
So, one evening, after another particularly frustrating day, I grabbed my old I Ching coins. I didn’t even have a specific question, more like a general, “What the heck is going on with my life?” kind of vibe. I shook those three coins in my hand, let them drop. Did it again, and again, six times in total. And when I drew out the lines, boom, there it was: Hexagram 47, called “K’un (Oppression, Exhaustion)”. It didn’t even have any changing lines, which meant it was just pure, unadulterated 47.
My first thought? “Great. Just what I needed. More oppression.” I looked at the diagram, the lower trigram is Water (Kan) and the upper is Lake (Dui). Water below a Lake. It’s like the lake is drying up, or the water is trapped. Or a well that’s run dry, deep down. Immediately, it resonated with that feeling of being stuck, of having my resources depleted, of just being utterly worn out.
I started reading through the different translations and commentaries I had. Most of them talked about facing adversity, about being in a difficult situation, about having your energy or spirit constricted. It talked about how circumstances can weigh you down, making progress impossible. “Yeah, no kidding,” I thought. I was living it.
But then, as I dug deeper, the texts also started to hint at something else. It wasn’t just about being oppressed, but about how you deal with it. It mentioned perseverance, inner strength, and not letting the outer circumstances break your spirit. It talked about the importance of being patient, finding simple joys, and preparing for a turn of events. That actually made me pause.
Here’s what I started to realize, trying to map it to my own messy life:
- Acknowledging the situation: The first step was just admitting, “Okay, things are tough right now. I am exhausted. This isn’t just a bad mood, this is real pressure.” I stopped pretending everything was fine and allowed myself to feel the weight.
- Looking inward, not outward: I used to chase solutions frantically, trying to fix every external problem. But Hexagram 47, for me, started pointing me to look at my own inner state. Was I approaching things the right way? Was I even taking care of myself amidst all the struggle?
- Conserving energy: This was a big one. When you’re exhausted, you don’t keep pushing harder in the same direction. It’s like trying to bail out a leaky boat with a teacup. I started cutting back on things that weren’t essential, learning to say “no” more often. I focused on what little energy I had left for the truly important stuff, like just keeping my head above water.
- Seeking small comforts and connections: The Lake trigram, Dui, also represents joy and communication. Even when things were hard, I started making an effort to find small moments of joy, even just a good cup of coffee or a chat with a friend. These little things, like finding a spring in a dry well, kept me going.
- Patience and reflection: The hexagram suggested that this period of difficulty wouldn’t last forever. It was a time for reflection, for building inner resilience, rather than outward advancement. This was a hard pill to swallow for someone who always wanted to “do” something, “fix” something. But I started understanding that sometimes, the best action is no action, or rather, internal action.
This whole understanding didn’t come in one flash, mind you. It was a slow burn, a gradual shift in how I perceived my predicament. I carried that image of the lake above the water, of things being constricted, but also the hint of a hidden spring, for weeks. Every time I felt that familiar wave of “ugghh, this sucks,” I’d mentally pull up Hexagram 47. Instead of wallowing, I’d try to embody what it suggested: be resilient, conserve, look for inner strength, wait it out. I started to understand that this wasn’t a punishment, but maybe a phase, a lesson in endurance and humility.
Eventually, things did start to shift. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first. A small win at work, a surprise check, a clear idea for handling a nagging problem. It wasn’t a dramatic overnight change, but more like the pressure valve slowly releasing. And when I looked back, I realized that understanding Hexagram 47 wasn’t about being told “you’re screwed,” but about being given a roadmap for navigating being “screwed.” It was about finding my footing when everything felt like it was crumbling. It taught me that even in the deepest exhaustion, there’s a strength to be found if you just look in the right places, often within yourself.
