Perceval said:
Given how lies and liars seem to be preferred by many people these days, apparently we do. If sacrificing the privacy that so many other people enjoy is the price that we have to pay in order for the truth to be heard, then we pay it willingly.
Laura said:
obyvatel said:
Laura, though I do not know you personally, based on some of your writings I have a feeling that you are a private person. You have been under relentless attacks and attempts at defamation for a very long time and every time you have produced evidence to clear the air at the cost of the privacy for you and your family and deep emotional pain.
That's pretty darn accurate. It has been the deepest and most painful divesting of any and all self imaginable. Again and again I must do it just to have the space to breath and do what is in me to do: to try to help others. What a strange thing it is...
Thank you for all of the work that you continue to do. The SOTT crew is the modern equivalent of the dragon slayers of yesterday.
I'm reminded of this passage from Laura's blog entitled "Not Ready To Make Nice"
"
Every year we do an annual I Ching reading for the year ahead (yeah, I know, why do I Ching when you have the Cs? Because we always like a second opinion!) and the reading for this year was rather disheartening. After all, this is the year that is going to produce the date 11-11-11. The question is always about the global conditions and which direction we should go in our work. We got the K'un Hexagram, number 47 (and 4 + 7 = 11, by the way), which is Oppression (Exhaustion). The following is a slightly paraphrased Richard Wilhelm translation:
above Tui the Joyous, Lake
below K'an the abysmal, Water
The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up; it is empty. It is dried up, exhausted, because an abyss has opened up within it and beneath it. Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light line; below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones. The upper trigram belongs to the principle of darkness, the lower to the principle of light. Thus everywhere superior men are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior men.
When there is no water in the lake, conditions are exceptional. It represents a time of adversity when, everywhere, superior men are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior men.
Oppression means encountering adverse fate. It is something that happens by chance.
The Judgment
OPPRESSION is a test of character:
It leads to perplexity and thence to success.
When one has something to say
One gets no hearing: one is not believed.
But through oppression does one learn
To lessen one's rancour.
Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they; befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect.
Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
Only a great man can bring about good fortune by keeping blameless and correct.
THE IMAGE
The lake is dried up, exhausted.
When adverse fate befalls him
The wise man stakes his life
On following his will.
At times of adverse fate there is nothing one can do but to acquiesce in one's fate and remain true to oneself. This concerns the deepest stratum of one's being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.
There were two changing lines, one and six:
THE LINES
Six at the beginning means: One sits oppressed under a bare tree: One strays into a gloomy valley.
When adversity befalls a man, it is important above all things for him to be strong and to overcome the trouble inwardly. If he is weak, the trouble overwhelms him. Instead of proceeding on his way, he remains sitting under a bare tree and falls ever more deeply into gloom and melancholy. This makes the situation only more and more hopeless. Such an attitude comes from an inner delusion that he must by all means overcome.
Six at the top means: Oppressed by bonds one now can break.
As one's distress draws to an end, one can easily master the oppression with insight. If one is still irresolute and influenced by one's previous condition, one fears to make a move. One must now grasp the situation, change one's attitude and be decisive. "
I've kept the above in mind and it has helped me to keep things in perspective throughout this year. It seems that the I Ching was right on the mark.
At the end of the day... "The dogs bark but the caravan moves on." -Anonymous
