Coca Cola KO under James Quincey

Coca Cola KO under James Quincey

 

 

 

 

 

HEXAGRAM 64 – Wei Chi – Before Completion

Above    Li    THE CLINGING, FLAME

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram indicates a time when

the transition from disorder to order is not yet completed.

The change is indeed prepared for,

since

all the lines in the upper trigram are in relation to those in the lower (1).

However,

they are not yet in their places.

While

• the preceding hexagram offers an analogy to autumn,
  
  • which forms the transition
    

    from summer to winter,
    

• this hexagram presents a parallel to spring,
  
  • which leads out of winter’s stagnation into
    

    the fruitful time of summer.
    

With this hopeful outlook the Book of Changes comes to its close.

THE JUDGMENT

BEFORE COMPLETION.

Success.

But if the little fox, after nearly completing the crossing,

Gets his tail in the water,

There is nothing that would further.

The conditions are difficult.

The task is great and full of responsibility.

It is nothing less than that of

leading the world out of confusion back to order.

But

it is a task that promises success,

because

there is a goal that can unite the forces now tending in different directions.

At first, however,

one must move warily, like an old fox walking over ice.

The caution of a fox walking over ice is proverbial in China.

His ears are constantly alert to the cracking of the ice,

as

he carefully and circumspectly searches out the safest spots.

A young fox who as yet has not acquired this caution

goes ahead boldly,

and it may happen that

he falls in and gets his tail wet

when

he is almost across the water.

Then of course

his effort has been all in vain.

Accordingly, in times “before completion,”

• deliberation
  

and

• caution
  

are the prerequisites of success.

THE IMAGE

Fire over water: The image of the condition before transition.

Thus

the superior man is careful

In the differentiation of things,

So that each finds its place.

When

fire,

• which by nature flames upward,
  

  is above,
  

and

water,

• which flows downward,
  

  is below,
  

their effects

• take opposite directions
  

and

• remain unrelated.
  

If

• we wish to achieve an effect,
  
• we must first
  
  • investigate the nature of the forces in question
    

    and
    

  • ascertain their proper place.
    

If

• we can bring these forces to bear in the right place,
  
  • they will have the desired effect,
    

  and
  

  • completion will be achieved.
    

But in order to handle external forces properly,

• we must above all arrive at the correct standpoint ourselves,
  

  for only from this vantage can we work correctly.
  

THE LINES

Six in the fifth place means:

Perseverance brings good fortune.

No remorse.

The light of the superior man is true.

Good fortune.

The victory has been won.

The power of steadfastness has not been routed.

Everything has gone well.

All misgivings have been overcome.

Success has justified the deed.

The light of a superior personality

• shines forth anew
  

and

• makes its influence felt among men
  

  who have faith in it and rally around it.
  

The new time has arrived,

and

with it good fortune.

And just

• as the sun shines forth in redoubled beauty after rain, or
  
• as a forest grows more freshly green from charred ruins after a fire,
  

so

• the new era appears all the more glorious
  

  by contrast with the misery of the old.
  

Nine at the top means:

There is drinking of wine

In genuine confidence.

No blame.

But if

one wets his head,

He loses it, in truth.

Before completion, at the dawning of the new time,

• friends foregather in an atmosphere of mutual trust,
  

and

• the time of waiting is passed in conviviality.
  

Since

the new era is hard on the threshold,

there is no blame in this.

But

one must be careful in all this to keep within proper bounds.

If in his exuberance

• a man gets drunk,
  
• he forfeits the favorableness of the situation
  

  through his intemperance.
  

NOTE.

1. The hexagram AFTER COMPLETION represents a gradual transition from a time of ascent past a peak of culture to a time of standstill.
   
2. The hexagram BEFORE COMPLETION represents a transition from chaos to order. This hexagram comes at the end of the Book of Changes. It points to the fact that every end contains a new beginning. Thus it gives hope to men.
   

   The Book of Changes is a book of the future.
   

1.     [See p. 362.]

2.    Note how this situation differs from that in the first line of the preceding hexagram.

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 47 – K’un – Oppression (Exhaustion)

Above    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

1. The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up. (1)
   

Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way:

1. at the top, a dark line is holding down two light lines;
   

   below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones.
   

2. 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.

THE JUDGMENT

OPPRESSION.

Success.

Perseverance.

The great man brings about good fortune.

No blame.

When one has something to say,

It is not believed.

• 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.
  

THE IMAGE

There is no water in the lake:

Thus

the superior man

stakes his life

On following his will.

When the water has flowed out below,

the lake must

• dry up
  

and

• become exhausted.
  

That is fate.

This symbolizes an adverse fate in human life.

In such times there is nothing a man can do

but

• acquiesce in his fate
  

and

• remain true to himself.
  

This concerns the deepest stratum of his being,

for this alone is superior to all external fate.

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