It's time now to take a look at the hexagram number four,
Entitled Innocence.
There is a moment in every journey when we realize how little we truly know.
The theme of this hexagram can also relate to ignorance or humility in learning,
But let's not mistake this as an insult.
This is referring to the natural ignorance we all carry when we are new,
New to a path,
New to a role,
New to a certain part of ourselves.
So ignorance or innocence in this context is not a flaw,
It is a phase,
A time.
It's a time when the mind is still waking up,
Perhaps the heart still learning how to listen.
The student arriving at the door of the teacher unsure of what to ask.
Looking at the image of this hexagram,
We see the low trigram of yin yang yin lines and this relates to water,
While in the trigram above it is yin yang yin,
Composed of mountain.
And this shows a potentially blocked condition.
The water is wanting to flow,
But the mountain resists.
We feel tension and uncertainty in such a situation.
One doesn't yet know how to move forward.
Within this struggle lives an invitation.
Invitation to begin learning,
To begin seeking.
So this hexagram can show up when we are standing at the edge of something new,
But lack the clarity or perhaps the maturity to handle it.
It's the moment of awakening and also humbling.
The I Ching says,
Something you thought was the case may not in fact be the case.
Keep calm and only act after careful and sensible thought.
Look back over everything you took for granted about the situation.
Eventually the situation will become clearer and appear as it actually is.
This will only be achieved through your steady perseverance.
Deepen your self-knowledge and learn to recognize and remedy your own folly.
So this talks to the fact that there is deep wisdom in recognizing when we do not yet know.
In our life today we so often taught to speak with certainty to present confidence even when we are unsure.
And here this hexagram,
This teaching guides the opposite.
It values curiosity over confidence,
Questions over answers.
Because not knowing is sacred ground.
It means something new can enter.
The greatest danger as the I Ching warns is when youthful folly becomes stubbornness.
When the ego defends ignorance instead of releasing it.
The true student is willing to be wrong,
Willing to receive correction.
Willing to sit quietly and absorb.
This is how we learn and how we grow.
Innocence may appear in your life when you are facing something unfamiliar.
Starting a new path,
Encountering a situation where you feel unqualified,
Overwhelmed,
Naive.
It could be a relationship that challenges your emotional maturity.
A job that stretches your capacity.
Or a spiritual question you can't yet answer.
This hexagram doesn't judge you for not knowing.
It simply asks,
Are you willing to be taught?
And along with that,
Who are you learning from?
Innocence reminds one to seek the right guidance and to be discerning.
Not every voice is a teacher.
Not every opinion deserves weight.
Find those who are rooted and who teach with patience,
Kindness and compassion.
And what if you are in the role of teacher?
Well,
This hexagram reminds one to not force wisdom on those who are not ready.
The wise one gives only what the student can absorb.
No more.
Take a moment now to picture a young plant.
Barely through the soil,
Swaying in the breeze.
It does not yet know the sun or the shape of its own leaves.
But it stretches anyway.
Think of the child approaching the ancient temple.
Hesitant,
Eyes wide,
Asking questions that seem foolish,
While carrying a deep longing.
This is innocence.
It is the willingness to be small.
The courage to admit you are just beginning.
And it's also the time of testing.
For if your questions are genuine,
The world will respond.
If they are arrogant,
The gate remains closed.
So take a breath and be gentle with yourself.
You do not have to know everything right now.
In fact,
It is better that one doesn't.
The mind that is full cannot receive.
But the empty bowl is ready.
So find your teacher,
Whether a person,
A book,
A place,
Or silence.
Go not to demand answers.
Simply to become ready for them.
Ask what needs to be asked.
Receive what can be given.
And then grow,
Slowly and wisely,
From the inside out.
Remembering that you are not behind.
You are beginning.
And that is more than enough.
