Gate · centre: Spleen
Gate 48 · Depth
A well of solutions. Below the surface there is plenty of knowledge and feel for things, though it often seems not to be enough.
What it is like
There is a depth in you that good solutions grow from, and others can draw on it. The feeling of "I don't know enough" sometimes holds you back from showing what you already can do.
When someone close has it
This person often knows more than they show and prepares for a long time. Ask them directly for their view, and let them know what they already have is enough to share.
A question for today
What can I already do, while I keep waiting until I know more?
The six lines of gate 48
Line 1 · Silted Floor
On this line depth begins with clearing the foundations. You want to know a subject from the bottom up before anyone drinks from what you know. The tradition shows an old, silted well that nobody visits. It is the image of a stage, not a verdict. When the ground still seems cloudy, it is easy to count everything you know as unimportant and offer it to nobody.
Line 2 · Cracked Jar
Depth comes to you without effort and you do not need to learn it, it is in you like water in a well. It flows best when someone asks for it at the right moment. Others call on you when they need a sound answer. When nobody calls, it is easy to spill your knowledge on small things, like water from a cracked jar, and not notice how much of it runs away.
Line 3 · Untasted Water
On this line you test your depth by offering it to people and seeing whether anyone drinks. Sometimes the water is clear and nobody reaches for it, and that hurts. At other times you meet someone who is thirsty, and then you see where your knowledge is needed. At times, after a few unnoticed attempts, it is easy to close the well before someone arrives who would value it.
Line 4 · Stone Lining
Your depth grows among people you know. Together with them you put your knowledge in order, correct it, line it with stone, and that shared work gives it a lasting shape. Friends come back to you because they know they will find something solid here. The tradition says a time of repair is no mistake. When the circle falls apart, it is easy to keep building walls though nobody comes for water any more.
Line 5 · Cool Spring
Others see in you a source that can be drawn from without end, and they come for concrete answers at work and in life. The tradition shows cool, clear water that people drink. This projection is practical and universal, because your knowledge fits many matters. When an answer turns out shallower than expected, it is easy to lose trust faster than it can be gained.
Line 6 · Open Well
From this line you look at your own knowledge from a distance and see that depth is not meant to be kept under a lid. For years you gain it through effort, then you step back, and in maturity others draw from you through the way you live, without lectures. At times the feeling that you still know too little makes you keep the lid on the well, though the water has long been clear.