Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of completing one's work and then allowing things to unfold naturally for a sense of peace.
Laozi suggests that by dedicating ourselves to our responsibilities and doing our work diligently, we should then take a step back and refrain from forcing outcomes. This practice allows for a sense of serenity to emerge, as we trust the process and let things develop in their own time, reflecting a deeper understanding of patience and acceptance.
In practice
In a meditation class, to encourage relaxation after a busy day.
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.
Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right.
So it is that good warriors take their stance on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat.
It is from books that wise people derive consolation in the troubles of life.
Iβve often been accused of being too emotional and sentimental, but I believe in honest sentiment, and the need to purge ourselves at certain times, which is ancient. Men would live at least five or six more years and not have ulcers if they could cry better.
The more specific we are, the more universal something can become. Life is in the details. If you generalize, it doesn't resonate. The specificity of it is what resonates.
In life, if you don't know the truth, then you can't be free, because then you'll believe that the lies are the truth. But once we realize that when we read the Word of God, and you know the truth of who you are, then I'm not a man without arms and legs. I am a child of God.
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