The changes prompt contemplation—at least they do for me. I mean contemplation in the sense of "thinking about," rather than the sense of the removal of, or retreat from, thought. Contemplation in the sense of climbing the observation tower and taking in the broader view, as I did a few weeks ago at he Fort Miles historical site at Cape Henlopen, Delaware. Fort Miles was, in the mid-1940s, part of the United States coastal defense system. Dotted along the Delaware beaches and sand dunes are tall towers from which, at the top, you can see great distances with unrestricted views. Truly breathtaking! As you wander around the viewing deck you take in the larger picture, you contemplate the scene. The vantage point takes you away from your self and your everyday concerns. The yearly changes lend themselves to such a contemplation.
This kind of contemplation is not a withdrawal and turning away from the world, but rather a taking time to try to understand the workings of the world, to think about own own life and place in the world.
James Balkin in his The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life reflects on Hexagram 20, Guan, "Viewing," with the following suggestions:
- Put aside older ways of imagining things and take a broader view.
- Be open-minded and do not allow your emotions to cloud your judgment.
- Try to face reality as it is and not as you might want it to be.
- Stop thinking about things from the standpoint of how they effect you personally and try to see the larger picture.
- Consider the origins of things and how matters arrived at their present state (NY: Schocken, 2002, 260).
Balkin's suggestions have helped frame my own contemplation this changing season.
Think good thoughts,
+Ab. Andy