Four weeks ago, I started on this book. The most important lesson for me has been on being flexible as we self-identify:
“The more you let a single belief define you, the less capable you are of adapting when life changes you.” The lesson is summarised in this poem:
Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and still will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail~LAO TZU