Can you hold your body and soul together
and not let them drift apart?

Can you breathe gently,
like a newborn child?

Can you cleanse your inner vision
until nothing remains but clarity?

Can you love the people
and lead without control?

Can you open and close the gates of heaven,
like a mother bird,
without force?

Can you understand everything
without appearing to know?

The Tao gives birth to all things
and nourishes them.
It creates, but does not claim.
It acts, but does not boast.
It leads, but does not control.

This is the deep power of the Tao.