heaven is eternal, earth everlasting. they endure this way because they do not live for themselves. in the same way, the wise person puts himself last, and thereby finds himself first, holds himself outside, and thereby remains at the center, abandons himself, and is thereby fulfilled.
LaoziThat the soft overcomes the hard, and the yielding overcomes the resistant, is a fact known by all, but practiced by few.
LaoziThings exalted then decay. This is going against the Way. What goes against the Way meets an early end.
Laozi