Approach in Spirit

Approach is double: the great approaching the small, and each of us approaching others. Its style is the boundless giving of the image: instruction that never tires, patience without a ceiling, bearing others the way earth bears the lake. Draw nearer to people in presence and in spirit — receptive, respectful, considerate — and let unity grow out of the trust that nearness builds. Within, approach means clarity — seeing through situations to their underlying reality, keeping judgment free of emotional colouring, and letting intuition rather than merely external advice guide action. This turning season repays a bright, even temper — and nothing draws its penalty faster than growing careless. This is the season to spend energy on what will outlast the season.

Line 1 shows good things approaching jointly, carried by forces beyond your own effort — welcome the momentum, but keep your feet and don't let hope sweep away the principles that got you here. Line 2 holds a rare promise: in harmony with the Sage, everything furthers — the pleasant advances you, the difficult instructs you, and nothing arrives that cannot be turned to growth. Line 5 names the wisdom of great leadership — knowing what not to do yourself, trusting the right people and the deeper current of things, the reserve that makes a ruler great. And line 6 is the fullest form of approach: one who has gone beyond the fray returning to it out of sheer generosity, firm principle and unbounded warmth together.