Strength and Stillness
Life is marked by softness; death by rigidity. What bends endures, while what resists breaks. The Tao honours gentleness over force, and places lasting strength in what is soft and yielding.
At birth, we are soft and tender.
At death, we are stiff and unyielding.
So too with trees and plants—
alive, they bend;
dead, they snap.
Hardness is the companion of death.
Softness is the companion of life.
The mighty fall because they resist the wind.
The gentle endure because they yield to it.
What is rigid may appear strong,
but it breaks.
What is supple may seem weak,
but it survives.
Thus,
place strength below.
Let softness rise above.
