Line by Line - Verse 55, Line 15

When things have become strong, they (then) become old,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

If too much energy is used, exhaustion follows.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Things become strong and then grow old
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

People waste time and energy
trying to be strong or beautiful,
and their strength and beauty fade.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

One of the greatest bits of advice I gleaned from my maternal grandmother was the importance of learning to pace oneself.

It so often happens that, when we start a new project (e.g., job, marriage, family, activity, etc.), we throw ourselves into it like a dervish. We're filled with such vigor and verve, so we go charging out of the gate like there's no tomorrow. We seem to be everywhere at once, moving from task to task at breakneck speed.

Too often, however, our energy starts to wane around the midpoint. The excitement of newness has worn off and we find ourselves easily distracted -- often with dreams of an even newer and supposedly better project somewhere on the horizon.

At times, we're able to trudge to the finish line, completely out of breath. But it's not uncommon at all simply to abandon the project altogether -- to toss it on the trash heap of broken dreams.

How different the outcome might have been if only we had the wisdom to pace ourselves.

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