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Keeping Still and Working on What’s Spoiled: Reflections on Today’s Oracle Draw

January 20, 2026 Technology

I woke up this morning, sipping my cup of cacao, and decided to cast an oracle reading to ground myself before diving into the day’s chaos. The draw—52, Keeping Still, and 18, Work on What Has Been Spoiled—hit me like a quiet nudge. “Keep your back still,” it says, almost like a reminder to stop fidgeting, to focus. And then there’s this call to repair what’s broken, to cross the great water with intention, taking stock before and after the leap. It’s poetic, sure, but it also feels like a mirror to where I’m at right now—figuring out where to put my energy in a sea of possibilities. (If you’re curious, you can see the full reading or cast your own here: https://oracle.truesight.me/?reading=8-6-7-8-8-7)

Let me unpack this a bit—both the oracle’s message and how it ties into a few interactions I’ve had today, along with some deeper thoughts on chaos and constraints.

Keeping Still: The Power of Focus

The Keeping Still hexagram feels personal. I’ve got a million things pulling at me—emails, ideas, community asks—but the message here is clear: don’t scatter yourself. Keep your back still. For me, that translates to doubling down on what’s highest leverage in my world right now. Within the scope of our DAO and the broader Agroverse ecosystem, I’ve decided my critical path is sales channel development—building partnerships here in the USA to get our cacao into physical venues. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the linchpin. If we can’t move product, nothing else matters.

I had to reflect that focus in a couple of responses today. To Tess, who invited me to a class and suggested a consult with Marcus about the DAO, I had to be straight: my bandwidth is razor-thin. I can’t detour from the critical path. I encouraged her to take the lead if she’s passionate—use her autonomy, lean into her understanding of how we operate, and make things happen. Same with other tasks outside my lane; I’m shelving them or leaving them for others in the community to pick up if they feel called. Does that sound harsh? Maybe—but it’s honest. I’m keeping still in my own way.

Working on What’s Spoiled: Transparency and Repair

Then there’s Work on What Has Been Spoiled, which speaks to fixing what’s broken with intention. That resonated when I followed up with Nima about the chocolate maker in Brazil. Transparency is non-negotiable for us—it’s the ethos of our distribution network. So I asked Nima to check if this maker is willing to share the location of their cacao farm and production facility. If not, it’s a no-go. I also requested details on cost per bar and weight, because we can’t move forward blind. Here’s the catch: even if all criteria are met, I can’t personally finance this batch. My capital’s tied up in the current cacao inventory. So I suggested reaching out to the FounderHaus community to see if they’d be up for crowdfunding. It’s a way to repair the constraint of limited funds—crowdsource the solution, keep the momentum.

This hexagram also mentions crossing the great water, which feels metaphorical but practical too. It’s about taking risks, but with preparation—three days before, three days after. I see that as a reminder to not just jump into partnerships or deals without due diligence, but also to follow up after the leap. It’s a slow, deliberate fix, not a quick patch.

Chaos Theory and Constraints: Am I Right to Narrow My Focus?

Now, let’s zoom out. I’ve been mulling over my approach through the lenses of chaos theory and constraint theory. Chaos theory tells us small actions can create massive ripple effects—unpredictable, but powerful. Constraint theory, on the other hand, says every system has a bottleneck, and optimizing anything else is a waste until that bottleneck is addressed. I’m betting that by focusing purely on high-leverage actions (like sales channels and partnerships), I’m tackling the bottleneck for our cacao distribution. If I can open up those physical venues, it’s a small input with outsized impact—ripples that could stabilize cash flow, build brand presence, and unlock other opportunities down the line.

But am I right? That’s the question nagging me. Is sales channel development truly the constraint, or am I missing a bigger bottleneck elsewhere—like community engagement or supply chain hiccups? And even if I’m correct, am I underestimating the chaos—those unpredictable ripples—that could come from sidelining other tasks or delegating without oversight? I think the oracle’s nudge to “keep still” supports my focus, but “work on what’s spoiled” warns me not to ignore the broken bits just because they’re not on my critical path.

Reflections for the Day

Here’s what I’m chewing on after this draw and these interactions:

I’m curious about your take. Do you think narrowing my focus to sales channels is the right bottleneck to attack, or am I missing a bigger constraint? How do you balance “keeping still” with “working on what’s spoiled” in your own projects—where do you draw the line between focus and flexibility?