The Makings of a Revolutionary Prophet

- Post Script I wrote to an I Ching Consultation I sent a friend Sept 20, 2005
- Comments that would identify the friend are excerpted and marked "..."

I got the full description for these 2 hexagrams, as I get the #62 hexagram, “Attention to Detail” near the end of a personal transformation cycle. I kept the second hexagram, “21, Cutting Through” from last August. I decided to keep it on my desktop to face every day because it’s haunted me for so long now, but I don’t seem to be the one who can do the job of “cutting the Gordian knot” or as the original Chinese puts it, “biting through a tough carrot”. Maybe you can do better – I give up.

I spent all my energy to stay alive and get a life. Now I live in serenity but am too battle-fatigued, too old and tired to do anything with the gifts God gave me. I’m used to working alone and my achievements have been great but only to my personal advantage. Still, I know God won’t let me die until I’ve finished whatever work is left for me to do, little or big, and I love and live for work. Doing something makes me feel secure. I’ve lost the joy of seeing a work completed and the excitement of starting a new challenge. I guess I’m tired of being a nomad any more – no stomach for it.

You are at a prime – young enough to have the energy and old enough to know how to use it wisely. You will do well once the new challenge becomes clear and you feel fired up about it. Then nothing can stop you.

...I felt you must have humility to back-up ... when your mastery of a foreign tradition was left unnoticed.
...Maybe it was only your need to provide for your family but, just maybe, you did it because you dared to do something nobody else would dream of – that’s creativity.

Learning to play something new as a student until you master it is “The Craft”. Using your new craft so beautifully that the piece of music, artwork, lyric, really “sings” as if it has a life of its own – that’s “Art”. Using a craft in an artistic manner that’s never been done before is “Invention” – like Picasso began modern art after his trip to Africa and seeing masks there. Very few have that gift.

Changing the direction of culture and creating a new trend is called a “Paradigm Shift”.
And, anybody who dares to use old tools and methods in a completely new way, or somebody that dreams up a whole new stylistic method or school of thought, or…

Anybody that dares to do the un-thought of, the unconventional, or unacceptable by traditional standards – is called “A Revolutionary” and usually gets assassinated, like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, or else they are torn limb-from-limb like Che Guevara. Stage two revolutionaries are controversial but get to stay alive, like Michael Moore, the director, for his movie, "Farenheit 911", wherein he exposed President Bush and got away with it, even if he does need theTeamsters for his security staff.

If you can do all of the above, and use your work to improve people’s lives with new healing methods and you teach people to make peace in a way that they actually feel motivated to do it – you are called "Prophet", only usually not until after your long-dead.

Doing any combination of the above in a way that improves quality of life in humanitarian terms, without becoming controversial but rather, in a way that lets you still feel safe walking the streets is the rarest of all. I can say most people do so in their immediate community. It seems a relatively new trend and one hard to pin down as noticeable, but a few humble souls have managed to live it. Eleanor Roosevelt was the first one I know of and most people still don’t know much about her, which kind of proves my point.

Audrey Hepburn, Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter and maybe Oprah Winfrey fall into this category but they were flaky early in their work and only became great humanitarian as seniors. I guess Anwar Sadat, Ghandi and maybe John Lennon were Inventors of the “Quiet Revolutionary” but got killed off still. Pope Jean Paul didn’t want the job and almost got assassinated, and the present Dalai Lama didn’t get a choice in his career direction either, but both are good models of this New Revolutionary. Nelson Mandela is a living Revolutionary but like all the others he only figured out the job qualifications well past middle age.

I guess you have to be a lot older than Jesus managed to get if you’re going to have the smarts AND the nerve to create a Revolution without getting so much press that they have to kill you off. He was supposed to be only 33 when he was executed - in Numerology that might translate as "half the shelf-life" of the full potential usefulness.

Maybe I have seen living examples of this phenomenon. My parents only immigrated to Canada because their homeland was pretty much levelled to a mud-field after WWII - paving the road in this new land for their children literally sucked the life out of them and so they died prematurely. Many of my friends from school have since died overdosing on drugs or committed suicide. I see them as the Terry Foxes of the world - people who had the vision to start a new trend in social awareness, a paradigm shift or revolution to uplevel culture. I always felt responsible to them to carry the torch they died giving birth to and carry it across the finishing line they saw but never got to touch.

That makes you just under the wire for qualifying as a student of past visionaries and a successful torch-bearer if you chose to see culture rise to a new level, complete the puzzle or write the bottom line of incomplete philosophies, or become a model humanitarian under the new definition of “Prophet”, i.e., without drawing attention to yourself, creating a media feeding-frenzy, or pissing people off enough to pay a home-boy to gun you down.

Come to think of it, I am old and wise enough, I have the desire to help people, and I am to tired and arthritic to put up with the riches – I don’t need or want anything; or, the recognition – I love and need my freedom too much. God knows, I have plenty to say, only it’s not interesting to anybody but me. Maybe if I put some effort into marketing research before I decide just where my brand of humanitarian work would be put to good use – ah, but I don’t have the motivation.

It’s too comfy singing to my pets at home in my cotton pajamas or undershirt, and making web-pages nobody sees while Peter watches golf on TV – I’ve never had a home before, at least not one I felt safe enough to turn my back to an open door and never worry about it. Maybe, the doggies and husband want hugs and kisses and my adoration and approval until I have to do my thinking work after they’re asleep. Plus, I can save my Tylenol and anti-anxiety pills for going “out” for a music lesson or visit my sister’s house. When I was little my Mom gave me aspirin and sang lullabies; after that life was Hell, until maybe last year. Now I know what “healthy and happy” feels like, even though I walk crippled and the bus-driver has to lower the steps.

I feel guilty for not doing more with my life, even sinful when I think I have finally reached the point where I can actually do something useful or create beauty. But the temptation to enjoy a relatively pain-free life overpowers any drive to push my tolerance level up to where it always was. Maybe I can find a way to be an “armchair” humanitarian and prophet, while you are gifted and healthy enough to be one “out in the field”.

You know, like watching the PGA golf tournaments on TV versus actually driving out to a golf course and playing 18 holes of golf.

You can knock yourself out with inventing a way to create a paradigm shift in Culture or espouse a philosophy that everybody can live with and make peace. So, tell me when you’ve found a way for musicians to cooperate, or anybody to agree on anything long enough to finish a cooperative project, and let me know what time the show is on TV. You can count on me to watch it on TV or my LD computer monitor in my cotton pajamas and socks. In fact, I could be your critic when your project needs some post-projection tweaking, if you paid me cash so I could keep my disability pension.

Whaddayasay? You have any bright ideas...?

I had no idea I was going to write anything, let alone a treatise on “The Makings of a Revolutionary Prophet”. I better stop now, even if it’s too late.

Hexagram 62 - "Attention to Detail"
Ambitious undertakings are not in order now, but attention to small matters brings progress. Such is the case of a person whose resources are meager, but who, through modesty and perseverance, rises to accomplish great things.
The key to success when the small potential dominates the large scene is to avoid pretentious ambitions and grandiose goals. The power of the small is served by slow and steady advancement, and succeeds through an honest awareness of its own limitations, without reservation.
Modesty stemming from recognizing your limitations is a fine quality, but it can be seen as weakness if it is not accompanied by conscientiousness. It is very important, therefore, to understand the demands of your situation, and not to expect success in big things right now. The wise person recognizes the nature of the time. So, know your own role, carefully attend to details and act with humility, and you can achieve success even with few resources.

Line 1: A changing first line suggests a baby bird who meets misfortune by trying to fly from the nest prematurely. The small must attain a certain stature before making even the most preliminary advances. A willingness to attempt difficult tasks too quickly often invites unfortunate consequences. Stick to basics for the moment, and make security a top priority.
Line 2: When you are denied access to those who control your fate, you have little choice but to accept the situation philosophically, while working diligently to merit notice in the future. Restraint in difficult situations foreshadows success in the future.
Line 3: When danger lurks, the wise take precautions, and do not consider even the smallest matters above their concern. Attention to small, even petty, details is often what paves the way for escape during a time of crisis. If you venture into the heart of the city at night, it pays to know the shortest, safest way out before you enter.
Line 4: When embarking on a dangerous journey unarmed, one must remain constantly alert and on guard. When you are in a position of weakness, restraint and caution are the order of the day. To push ahead in such circumstance, would bring severe misfortune.
Line 5: When assembling a team to undertake a difficult task, emphasize achievement and talent over status and reputation. Only by assembling solid individual elements can the small be transformed into the great. Keep the group chemistry in mind, for harmonious working relationships are essential to the success of exceptional undertakings begun with meager resources.
Line 6: At a time when details are particularly important, returning to the comfortable ground of generalities brings misfortune. If you attempt overly ambitious undertakings when only small opportunities present themselves, misfortune is the result. When overshooting the mark, whether due to pride or inattention, the result is often the same: like a plane coming in for a landing with the wrong readings, you crash. Take things a step at a time; pay attention to the details!

Hexagram 21 - "Cutting Through"
The situation calls for confronting a tenacious knot and cutting through it. Somehow, the way to harmony and unity is blocked or frustrated - perhaps by a tangle of deceit or corruption. Like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian knot, take decisive action and you will meet with good fortune. Don't be afraid to shake things up a bit. The ability to take corrective measures, when they are needed, is an essential trait of true leadership.
But those who bring discipline to bear must, above all, be honest - with others, and with themselves. Honesty is the hallmark of the strong and self-confident. The successful person masters the art of honesty much as a swordsman masters fencing. When lies, delusions and game-playing are getting in the way of teamwork, a swift sword of honest action, perhaps even punishment, must be wielded to protect one's integrity and values. Decisiveness with integrity at a time like this brings good fortune.
Though your actions be vigorous, they must not be hasty, severe, or arbitrary. Be sure to carefully consider all the circumstances. In the case of a serious disruption of relations or events, you must forgive, but not forget - at least until a person has made reparation for his mistakes. If corrective action is necessary, make certain that it fits the crime. When rules have become slack and useless, only through the institution of clear and swift penalties can their effectiveness be restored.
In situations where serious issues of justice are at stake, keep careful records, and do not hesitate to go public with the truth.

Line 1: A single, first offense is not cause for condemnation and stiff punishment, but some form of corrective action is needed in order to prevent further transgressions. If you have been wronged by someone, confront the matter openly, but without hostility.
Line 2: The best punishment is one which fries a man in his own grease. The true criminal must be punished for his crimes, and all serious violations of decency dealt with directly. There is an inclination to go too far in such situations, as personal indignation muddies the waters. Even so, punishment is warranted.
Line 3: In trying to cut through a knotty old problem, you may have gotten your saw stuck in the wood. Old, hard feelings may still attach themselves to the problem, and can kick back at you if you attempt to right past wrongs. It is not your responsibility to rewrite the past; since you cannot solve the problem, it is your responsibility now to walk away from the whole situation, before it gets any worse.
Line 4: When facing great obstacles or powerful opponents, never overreach your authority and never outstrip your resources. Move ahead with caution, and harden your resolve. Persevering with difficult situations in the end brings good fortune. As when biting through a tough carrot, sharp teeth may be required.
Line 5: This change points to a very difficult situation. All decent people have a tendency toward leniency, but when the facts of a situation are clear-cut, and a grievous wrong has been committed, strong corrective action must be taken. Such action may take the form of punishment to those who have committed the offense. In such cases, bear in mind that the first job of the administrator of punishment is to see that the punishment be effective. In other words, that it serve its highest intended purpose - to cause the offenders to understand the wrong they have committed, and prevent them from committing it in the future.
Line 6: Those who believe that "small sins do no harm" are often sliding on the slippery slope to ruin. When someone turns a deaf ear to legitimate grievances in small matters, he or she may be acquiring guilt at such a pace that there will be no alternative but to take stern measures against them.