Tao Te Ching 76

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.
______________________________________________________

This is one of my favorite chapters in the Tao Te Ching, so I’ve quoted all of it. It’s a thumbnail manual for living, and thus for dying. The truth of these six sentences has been manifest in my life more times than I can count.

Every time in my life that I’ve gotten hard, stiff, brittle or dry I have contributed to the death of something, be it a relationship, a communication, an innovation, or some needed change. Every time that I’ve remained soft, supple, tender and pliant, I have nurtured the life and well being of those essential things.

This chapter reveals one of the secrets of the martial arts, wherein the prevailing combatant is always soft, supple and yielding in a wise way.

I think of those who hold fast to their hardened positions in matter of politics and religion, those who have no flexibility in their views of the world and the affairs of men and women. In time, they will be broken.

I think of those people who have been the paradigms of peace and happiness in my life. Without exception, they have been flexible and able to bend in an adverse wind and then return to their full stature when the storm passes.