Line by Line - Verse 8, Line 3

the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

It stays in places that people dislike Therefore it is similar to the Tao
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

It flows without thinking about where it's going...just like Tao.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

In most of our lives, we seek to reach the pinnacle. We are consumed with gaining wealth, popularity, influence and power. No matter how much we gain, we can't satiate these desires. If we obtain x amount of power, we want x amount more. All this striving does is generate tremendous amounts of internal stress and, the more we struggle for more, the less balanced and secure we feel.

Water, on the other hand, always flows downward. By flowing downward, it strives for nothing. Water goes where the flow of life takes it. Because it is not fighting to increase itself or to go a specific direction, there is no stress.

Might we learn a valuable lesson from water?

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.