Humans are supple and weak when living,
But hard and stiff when dead.
Grass and trees are pliant and fragile when living,
But dried and shrivelled when dead.
Thus the hard and the strong
Are the comrades of death;
The supple and the weak
Are the comrades of life.
Therefore a weapon that is strong
Will not vanquish;
A tree that is strong
Will suffer the axe.
The strong and big
Take the lower position,
The supple and weak
Take the higher position.
– A great Poem by the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu depicting tenderness & flexibility as the attributes of life. Quite often, we tend to appreciate rigidity & sternness as the admirable qualities, & tend to make our kids bold & strong ‘coz we know that pains & aches are part of life… we don’t want them to suffer by being vulnerable……
We hide our sentiments & feelings before others… We don’t like to expose our softness.. we don’t like our tears to be seen.. so we cry in darkness in our privacy.. We feel expressing feelings is weakness…
We forget that we always like soft & tender things, rather we try to be hard & tough, or pretend so… But, sensitivity, mildness, softness, etc are what makes humans lively, lovely & memorable… So, lets not be deprived of our human qualities!!
