the journey makes me wise

On The Path

If you hope to expand
You should first learn how to contract.
If you hope to become strong
You should first understand weakness in yourself.
If your ambitions are to be
exalted
Humiliation should always
follow.
If you hold fast to something
It will surely be taken away
from you.
This is the operation of the
subtle law of the universe.
The law of the universe is
subtle,
But it can be known.
The soft and the meek can
overcome the hard and the
strong.
The true strength of a
country or a person is not on
the outside.
Just as fish cannot leave
the deep
One must never stray from
one's true nature...

FROM THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF LAO TZU
TRANSLATION AND ELUCIDATION
BY HUA-CHING NI