Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other.
High and low rest upon each other.
Voice and sound harmonize each other.
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
creating, yet not possessing,
working, yet not taking credit,
work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
Sit With This
Where in your work or relationships are you holding on to credit or outcomes in a way that might be exhausting you?
Western Commentary
Every judgment you make creates its opposite. You cannot call something beautiful without implying the existence of ugliness; you cannot praise without implying criticism. The sage — the wise person the Tao Te Ching describes throughout — acts without grasping at the results. In western culture we are trained to take credit, to own our achievements. Lao Tzu suggests this is precisely what makes them fragile.