Nothing on earth is so weak and yielding as water, but for breaking down the firm and strong it has no equal.
Interpretation
Water, although seemingly weak, has the power to erode the strongest of materials over time.
This quote by Laozi illustrates the paradox of water's nature. While it appears weak and flexible, it possesses the incredible ability to wear down even the most solid and unyielding structures. The quote serves as a reminder that strength can be deceptive, and persistence, like water, can lead to profound change despite initial appearances.
In practice
During a motivational speech about perseverance in the face of adversity.
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart!
As we kill nature, we are killing ourselves, and God incarnate as the world as well.
No living creature, not even man, has achieved, in the centre of his sphere, what the bee has achieved in her own: and were some one from another world to descend and ask of the earth the most perfect creation of the logic of life, we should needs have to offer the humble comb of honey.
To hike out alone in the desert; to sleep on the valley floor on a night with no moon, in the pitch black, just listening to the boom of silence: you can't imagine what that's like.
I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.
Many organic practices simply make sense, regardless of what overall agricultural system is used. Far from being a quaint throwback to an earlier time, organic agriculture is proving to be a serious contender in modern farming and a more environmentally sustainable system over the long term.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.