ava on Nostr: Rather than fill it to the brim by keeping it upright Better to have stopped in time; ...

Rather than fill it to the brim by keeping it upright
Better to have stopped in time;
Hammer it to a point
And the sharpness cannot be preserved for ever;
There may be gold and jade to fill a hall
But there is none who can keep them.
To be overbearing when one has wealth and position
Is to bring calamity upon oneself.
To retire when the task is accomplished
Is the way of heaven.

— #Tao Te Ching: Ch 09 (D.C. Lau translation)

#IKITAO #TaoistWisdom