Pushing Upward in Decision

Yes, begin — and begin small. This hexagram never fights, which is why it meets no resistance: it bends around stones, finds the gaps, and rises. So decide in favour of the patient, steady move rather than the dramatic leap. Line 5 states the method as the centre of the whole reading — upward step by step, each stage complete before the next begins, each opening taken when it opens and each pause honoured when it comes. Line 1 confirms the good fortune of a confident start, but the confidence to trust is not the ego's self-assurance; it's the trust earned by sincerity. Seek guidance and fear not — the Judgment is all encouragement. Just don't try to skip stages; the height that holds is the one climbed a step at a time.

If you're stuck, ask whether the stall is really a pause the climb requires. Line 5 honours the pause as part of the method: striving to prolong or maximise a moment turns progress into resistance, so a genuine wait between steps is not being stuck — it's the tree consolidating before the next growth. Line 2 points to what carries you through a lean stretch: sincerity over polish. The means may be modest and the manner rough, but sincerity is what the height accepts — so don't spend the waiting on being noticed, because recognition sought is progress lost. If everything has suddenly gone effortless (line 3, the empty city), don't mistake ease for arrival: keep working on your alignment while the walls are empty, because that quiet is the moment vigilance dissolves.