Gate 8 · Contributions

What it is like

You can bring something into the light so that people finally notice it. Sometimes your own contribution stays in the shadow, even though it deserves the stage too.

When someone close has it

This person often presents other people's ideas better than their authors do. Ask what they'd like to show of their own, since they talk about themselves less.

A question for today

What of my own do I want to show today, rather than only other people's?

The six lines of gate 8

1. Line 1 · The Full Jar

   This line rests its contribution on sincerity as the first foundation. Before you show someone else's work to the world, you want to know it well and be sure you are telling the truth about what you show. The old image is of a clay jar filled to the brim, plain and honest. When certainty is lacking, it is easy to hold back so long that the other person's work misses its moment.

2. Line 2 · Bond from Within

   Here contribution flows naturally from an inner bond with what you show. You do not need to try, because when something moves you, you can speak about it so that others feel it too. People often call on you to present, introduce or recommend something. Sometimes too many requests pull you away from the things you truly feel bound to, and then your voice sounds hollow.

3. Line 3 · The Wrong Alliance

   This line learns about contribution by showing things that turn out impossible to stand behind. You sometimes promote something that looks good, then find it does not suit you or the people around it have other aims. Every such experience sharpens your sense of whom it is worth joining. When mistakes add up, it is easy to start suspecting every collaboration before it can be tested.

4. Line 4 · Worthy Loyalty

   Here contribution works through people you value and know. You can stand behind someone you believe in and show others what that person does. Your network of acquaintances becomes a place where other people's talents finally find an audience. Sometimes loyalty to one person hides other voices from you, and then it is hard to see who else is waiting for your support.

5. Line 5 · The Open Side

   This line makes others see in you someone who knows how to show the world something of value. The old image is of a hunt in which one side is left open so that nobody is forced. Your contribution works best when you invite rather than push. When expectations grow, it is easy to start pressing, and then people walk away, even though the thing you are showing is good.

6. Line 6 · Joining Late

   Here contribution is seen from a distance, with the knowledge of what happens to things shown without a clear direction. Over the years you teach others by how you bring people together around a shared cause and when it needs to be named clearly. The old image warns against a unity that has neither head nor aim. Sometimes you wait so long to join that the shared thing moves on without you.

The centre of this gate

• Throat

Channels through gate 8

• 8–1 · Inspiration