When life begins we are tender and weak
When life ends we are stiff and rigid
All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life
dry and brittle in death

So the soft and supple are the companions of life
While the stiff and unyielding are the companions of death

An army that cannot yield will be defeated
A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind
Thus by Nature’s own decree the hard and strong are defeated
while the soft and gentle are triumphant

…Verse 76 from “Tao Te Ching”

Lao-Tzu, translated by Jonathan Star
ISBN: 978-158542-618-8