Daodejing Part Eight

LYRICS: Move like water, soft and clear, Never pushing, never fear. Low and humble, quiet ground, Life begins where peace is found. Mirror hearts but never cling, Hold no weight, no crown, no king. Be like water — falling, rising, Never claiming, never fighting. Shape the world by yielding first, Calm the fire, quench the thirst. Flow in silence, gentle power — Water wins in every hour. Give like rivers feed the earth, Never counting, knowing worth. Bend with forests, stone and sand, Take no throne, yet guide the land. Clear within, and deep inside, Truth reflects when ego dies. Be like water — falling, rising, Never claiming, never fighting. Shape the world by yielding first, Calm the fire, quench the thirst. Flow in silence, gentle power — Water wins in every hour. Time moves soft — the frost, the rain, Seasons change without complaint. Stopped, it waits; released, it runs, Answers wind, obeys the sun. Who does not contend will see: Peace is power, calm is free. Be like water — falling, rising, Never claiming, never fighting. Shape the world by yielding first, Calm the fire, quench the thirst. Flow in silence, gentle power — Water wins in every hour. Be like water — quiet thunder, Softest will that pulls us under. Win by yielding, live by grace, Find your strength in empty space. In the stillness, hear the river — Gentle hearts endure forever. DAODEJING PART EIGHT: The highest Excellence is like water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving, the low place which all men dislike. Hence is near to the Dao. The excellence of a residence is in the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of words is in their trustworthiness; that of government is in its securing good order; that of affairs is in its ability; and that of any movement is in its timeliness. And when does not wrangle, no one finds fault with him.