Progress in Decision

This is a favourable hexagram for moving forward: the advance largely happens of itself, the way the sun rises by being the sun. So the decision leans toward yes — but the timing lesson is where you put your effort. Don't strive for progress or toward comfortable, desirable objectives; act from consistency with your principles and the rest follows. Line 1 warns that the advance may stall at the start and others may withhold trust through no fault of yours; if so, don't force it — stay calm and generous, because the confidence not yet extended comes to the one who didn't demand it. Line 5 is the freeing instruction: don't take gain and loss to heart. Decide from the wide view, commit to the essential, and let the increments fall where they fall — freed from the ledger, every undertaking prospers.

If the advance has stalled, read which stall it is. Line 1 is the turned-back start — trust not yet given; the calm itself is the qualification, so wait without frustration and keep doing what's right. Line 2 is progress in sorrow — moving forward but lonely, the help you want still absent; don't buy company at the price of principle, because the loneliness is temporary and the gentle, unforced happiness arrives in its own time. Line 3 is the turn: others fall into accord, the solo climb ends, and remorse over old shortfalls dissolves in the fellowship of those going your way. So waiting here is rarely true blockage — it's usually the early, lonely stretch before the accord. Stay on the path, refuse the ego its measuring stick, and the climb resumes.