> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # RAINWATER - URL: https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/rainwater/ - Published: 2026-09-13T16:01:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-13T23:09:25.000Z - Description: chapter 7. MULTITUDE - Author: ACHTismeerdanDUIZEND - Tags: The Sketchbook of Changes, #lightbox, 7 *Aguas Pluviais*.We long for it in times of drought. The next moment, it threatens to engulf us. Water: ally, enemy, benefactor, killer? You name it. Should we, first and foremost, prepare for a water shortage? Or arm ourselves against that other, diametrically opposed kind of water crisis—that of torrential downpours and flooding? Do you prepare for an impending surplus or for a shortage? Or for both? Vision is required. A forward-looking approach is essential. Before you know it, you might well be letting a Trojan horse in. The common name for *Chapter 7* is *The Army*. The sum total of a large number of soldiers. A multitude of armed individuals who undoubtedly require leadership and discipline. Before you know it, military power turns against those it is supposed to protect. It easily transforms from being a protector to something from which one must be protected from. A single raindrop, a single soldier, means nothing. But beware when they unite and form a mass of water, an army. And even more when this process takes place out of sight. In secret. *Water* beneath the *Earth*. **The army is also a metaphor for the conduct of your life. You are both the potential army and the general who must train it and transform it from a disorganized mass of peasantry into a disciplined and motivated force. Like the general, you are entrusted with great possibilities. But like the undifferentiated mass, your ambitions will amount to nothing if you do not establish priorities and organize and structure your life. If you want to succeed, you must have clear-cut goals and you must be enthusiastic about them. Otherwise you will not have the courage to persevere when you meet opposition. Discipline yourself and your desires so that healthy and effective habits become second nature. Marshal your forces and abilities and put them to the best possible use.* **The Laws of Change* \- Jack Balkin ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/1.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/2.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/3.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/4.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/5.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/6.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/7.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/8-1.jpg) ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/10.jpg) Hidden from view, beneath the road surface, lies a hidden world of tubes and pipes. A project of unimaginable scale. Built over a long period of time, with vision and with military-like tenacity. This is how the torrential downpours of summer and autumn, and the acute water shortages in other seasons, are regulated. IMAGE In the middle of the earth is water: This is the image of the Army. Thus the superior person marshals his forces through generosity to the common people **The Laws of Change* \- Jack Balkin --- ![](https://www.8ismeerdan1000.com/content/images/2026/09/07-1.png) 'nine on the second place' What does the hexagram show? An abundance of raindrops, an abundance of little soldiers, represented by five broken lines, ten symbolic separate units. These seek each other out and, when joined together, form a mass of water, a veritable army. A situation with great potential, that is certain, but also full of menace and danger. The unbroken line in second place represents morality, discipline, a good commander, and a wise leader. '*Nine on two'* stands for the regulating capacity of pipes and conduits, buffers, and drains. All hidden from view, beneath the paving, but no less essential for that. *Earth* above *Water*. The image of *Multitude*, *of an Army*, of organising by means of imposed discipline and morality. > The highest good is like water. > Water give life to the ten thousand things > and does not strive. > It flows in places men reject > and so is like the Tao. > In dwelling, be close to the land. > In meditation, go deep in the heart. > In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. > In speech, be true. > In ruling, be just. > In daily life, be competent. > In action, be aware of the time and the season. > No fight: No blame. > Tao Te Ching 8 - vertaling Gia Fu-Feng --- Thank you for reading! ****'Eight is More Than a Thousand'** is built using Ghost, an open-source writing platform. All contributions go directly to the writer. Some of the articles on 8ismeerdan1000 are freely accessible. Another section is available only to paying subscribers. 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