New Beginnings

Last night and this morning I have been doing calligraphic meditations on the Zhun hexagram, CHALLENGING BEGINNINGS from the I Ching. In times like this when so much seems to be ending abruptly, it is good to remember that every ending heralds a new beginning . . . even when it is not yet visible.

The calligraphic symbol for this gua, which is the third one in the I Ching series, right after the absolutely yang #1 hexagram, Qian, and the absolutely yin #2 hexagram, Kun, shows a seed with a curled root reaching deep into the soil below and pushing through the solid crust of the earth surface above.

Just like the baby chick who must exert tremendous effort to break out of the shell, or the caterpillar in its chrysalis which must find its own way out of the cocoon in order to survive as a butterfly, new beginnings are always difficult and there is good reason for them to be so. Outside aid is not desirable and will, in fact, be disastrous for the new life struggling to come forth. This is part of the stern, deep wisdom of nature.

What the hexagram wisdom suggests is best expressed in the lines of the great spiritual artist, Paul Klee, who simply said

“Nothing can be rushed. Things must grow.”

[for my artist and calligraphy friends, I reversed the usual direction of the 4th stroke:

First: the horizontal earth

Second: the opened, cup-like seed cover

Third: the downward thrusting root

Fourth: the seedling pushing up out of the earth

Most often you’d be working left to right and top to bottom. Instead, I let the fourth stroke move from under the earth so as to feel the energy of breaking through the crust to seek the light. That was the interesting and difficult part of the meditation. I did several dozen sketches until I got one that felt right.]