What has equilibrium
is easy to maintain. What hasn’t
begun is easy to plan. What is fragile
is easy to shatter. What is small
is easy to scatter.
Deal with things
before they arise. Cultivate
order before confusion
sets in.
The tallest tree
springs from a tiny shoot.
The tallest tower is built from a pile of
dirt. A journey of a thousand miles
begins at your feet.
Interfere with things,
and you’ll be defeated by them.
Hold on to things, and you’ll lose them.
The sage doesn’t interfere, so he
doesn’t fail; doesn’t hold on,
so he doesn’t lose.
Because projects
often come to ruin just before
completion, he takes as much care at
the end as he did at the beginning,
and thereby succeeds.
His only desire
is to be free of desire.
Fancying nothing, learning not
to know, electing not to interfere,
he helps all beings become
themselves.
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