"When life begins ..." - Quote by Lao Tzu
When life begins we are tender and weak When life ends we are stiff and rigid All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life and dry in brittle in death So the soft and supple are the companion of life While the stiff and unyielding are the companions of death An army that cannot yield will be defeated A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind Thus by Nature's own decree the hard and strong are defeated while the soft and gentle are triumphant
More by Lao Tzu
More on Flexibility
“There is nothing softer and weaker than water, and yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things.”
“Not being tense but ready. Not thinking but not dreaming. Not being set but flexible. Liberation from the uneasy sense of confinement. It is being wholly and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.”
“Bend and you will be straight.”
More on Strength
“O the joy of the strong-brawn'd fighter, towering in the arena in perfect condition, conscious of power, thirsting to meet his opponent.”
“Nonviolence of the strong is infinitely braver than their violence.”
“But the strong base and building of my love is as the very centre of the earth, drawing all things to it.”