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> Hard vs Soft
By sedron | October 30, 2007
The standard of teaching from most civilizations has been: “You must exhibit your strength and intelligence; don’t let people think you are weak or foolish.” If someone told you to act like a fool or a weak person, you would probably think he is out of his mind. Most people think being strong is good, but how often do they forget strength will break whereas weakness will remain intact…….
A huge tree is strong than a tiny blade of grass&dmash;this sounds pretty natural to most of us. Yet, in a hurricane, it is the huge tree that gets pulled up by the force of the wind, while the tiny grass just sways back and forth. Although the wind has no form or body, it can blow down houses and uproot trees.
Water is soft and yet it can erode away mountains and carve out canyons. There is no hard things that it cannot penetrate.
When people are alive, their bodies are tender and soft;
when dead, they become stiff and hard.
When living, plants are also tender and supple.
When dying, they are only to become brittle and dry.
A strong army will end up a dead army, like a strong tree that gets hacked down. A victory in war is followed by funeral procession for those who die on battlefield. Or perhaps, death can be prevented altogether if people learn to be flexible and seek alternate routes like the pliant water bending around rocks, instead of opposing enemy head-on.
Stiff and hard things belong to the world of the dead, while the tender and soft belong to the world of living.
Hence, firmness isn’t necessarily strength, while weakness actually is strength. The weak overcomes the strong; the soft overcomes the hard. Everyone knows this, but very few people is able to put it into practice.
Topics: Reader's Digest |