First Reading of Chapter One of the Upper Xici: Heaven and Earth Take Their Places, and Virtue Is Formed Through Ease and Simplicity
A close reading of Chapter One of the Upper Xici within the context of pre-Qin thought, moving through the layers of Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun, the firm and the yielding, image and form, change, ease and simplicity, virtue and achievement, and the taking of one's place -- to see how the Yi runs through the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, and the Way of Man.
XLIX. Further Reflection Seven: The End Point Is Still a Beginning
This chapter begins with Qian and Kun taking their places, and ends with forming one's place in the very midst of it. Yet forming one's place is not a stopping point. Today one's place is formed; tomorrow the time and configuration change again; today a matter is completed, and what is completed becomes, in turn, a new beginning. Virtue can endure, and so it must be renewed day by day; achievement can grow great, and so it must continually accommodate new people and new circumstances. The end point returns once more to the great beginning.
This circuit lets a person both dwell at peace and continue moving forward. He dwells at peace within the order Heaven and Earth already provide, not thrown into panic by change; he moves forward within the not-yet-exhausted generation of the myriad things, not growing complacent over some small success already achieved. Knowing his own limits, he is humble; knowing he has his own place, he is courageous. Humility is not retreat, and courage is not recklessness -- the two, once again, are a pairing of the firm and the yielding assisting each other.