Lao Tzu

The snow goose needs no daily bath to stay white. The crow needs no daily ink to stay black . . .”

Over the centuries, many a Chinese scholar-official would return from his government yamen or official workplace to the seclusion of his private studio or zhai, where he would quietly practice a sort of “weekend Taoism,” writing occasional verse, indulging his love of painting and calligraphy, playing a game of Go, plucking the strings of his qin, and enjoying the other pastimes of the leisured man of letters, all of which had as their goal the fusion of the individual with the Tao of the cosmos.

Just as one should never keep on filling a vase, or sharpening a blade, so one should never try to hold on to worldly treasures, or boast of Wealth and Rank. The Tao Lets Go, lets things follow their natural course, lets things unfold. Once something is Accomplished, the inevitable Cycle begins again