It is easy to hold
what is stable.
It is easy to mold
what is not yet formed.
It is easy to shatter
what is still fragile.
It is easy to scatter
what is yet light and small.
Therefore, act now rather than wait.
Get things done before it's too late.
A huge tree that you can't get your arms around
grows from a tiny seedling birth.
A tower of nine stories high
rises from a small heap of earth.
A thousand mile journey begins with one step.
This is an ancient tale.
Those who procrastinate,
and those who take premature actions fail.
Those who interfere in processes disrupt them.
Those who hold tightly to possessions lose everything.
Wise people succeed because they never force an outcome.
They never suffer a loss because they are not attached to anything.
Many succeed in gathering a few assets.
But when the stakes begin to sail, and
greed crashes through all cautionary boundaries,
failures unmercifully prevail.
Wise people don't accumulate possessions,
or teach anyone to amass things.
They devote themselves to the natural rhythms
that the Great Integrity brings.
“The Tao Te Ching, A New Translation”
By: Ralph Alan Dale
ISBN: 0-7607-4998-1