Certain death

I work near the Boulder reservoir and sometimes go running on the trails around the res. during lunch. Several of the trails are blocked off by fences with signs that say something like “Certain death upon entry.” Apparently, a dog died there a few years ago, hence the fences and the signs so it’s not as dangerous as one might thing. Still, it’s always a little upsetting to be told you’re close to certain death, whether you are or not, especially when you’re not expecting at all.

My officemate and I have fallen into the habit of doing our I Ching readings almost every day. We have the book and the coins and ask our quiet questions the way would ask a magic 8-ball.

As you may know, it’s been a busy week at work and I’m totally exhausted. Still, I didn’t go snowboarding last weekend (the only weekend this year that I haven’t) so I thought about heading up tomorrow for a half day. I was planning to go up on my own and take a lesson so I could brush up on my turning skills, maybe hit the half pipe. (Anyone who’s ever been snowboarding with me will think the idea of me in the half pipe is funny but don’t laugh. The last time I took a lesson (the only snowboarding lesson I’ve ever had) they took us in the half pipe at the end of the day and I did okay. There were no twists or turns or things like that. Just some “workin the wall”.)

But like I said before, I’m exhausted. So this morning I decided to ask the I Ching “Should I go snowboarding tomorrow?” The hexagram I got for my reading was Tun, which means retreat. The summary section to my reading went exactly like this: This is a time for disengagement and retreat. In stillness you are out of the reach of danger.”

Wow. So no snowboarding for me this weekend. I’ll be at the library instead.