Daily Wisdom from the Past: January 28, 2026

Today’s Teacher: Lao Tzu (6th Century BCE)

The Teaching

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”

— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Who Was Lao Tzu?

Lao Tzu (meaning “Old Master”) is the semi-legendary founder of Taoism, one of China’s most influential philosophical and spiritual traditions. While historians debate whether he was a single person or a composite of multiple teachers, tradition holds that he was a contemporary of Confucius who served as the keeper of archives in the royal court during China’s Zhou Dynasty.

According to legend, Lao Tzu grew disillusioned with the corruption and violence of society and decided to leave civilization behind. As he rode his water buffalo toward the western border, a gatekeeper recognized his wisdom and begged him to write down his teachings before disappearing. In response, Lao Tzu composed the Tao Te Ching (The Book of the Way and Its Power)—81 short verses that would become one of the most translated books in human history.

The Tao Te Ching offers a philosophy that runs counter to almost everything modern culture teaches: instead of striving, yield; instead of forcing, allow; instead of hardening, soften; instead of accumulating power, embrace emptiness. For 2,600 years, these paradoxical teachings have offered an alternative path—one that works with the natural flow of life rather than against it.

Understanding the Wisdom

The Paradox of Softness

Our culture worships hardness. We’re told to:

Be tough, not vulnerable
Stand firm, never bend
Build walls, not bridges
Compete aggressively
Push through obstacles
Never show weakness
Maintain rigid positions
Project strength at all costs

Lao Tzu observed nature and noticed something different. The hardest things—rocks, rigid trees, brittle ice—break first. The softest things—water, flexible reeds, yielding grass—survive and ultimately prevail.

A rigid tree snaps in a storm. A flexible tree bends and survives.

A hard stone cracks in the frost. Water freezes and thaws without breaking.

A clenched fist can punch but cannot receive. An open hand can both hold and let go.

The paradox: What appears weak is actually strong. What appears strong is actually brittle.

How Does Water Overcome Rock?

This isn’t just poetic metaphor—it’s observable reality. The Grand Canyon was carved by water. Mountains are worn down by rain. Coastlines are shaped by waves.

Water doesn’t overcome rock through force. It overcomes through:

Persistence without rigidity:

Water keeps flowing without forcing
It finds the path of least resistance
It doesn’t fight the obstacle—it flows around, over, or through
Given enough time, the persistent soft overcomes the rigid hard

Adaptation:

Water takes the shape of whatever contains it
It fills every crack and crevice
It doesn’t insist on being a particular way
It responds to conditions rather than imposing its will

Power through yielding:

Water doesn’t resist gravity—it uses it
It doesn’t fight its environment—it works with it
By yielding, it gains tremendous power
A flash flood can move boulders by going with the flow, not against it

This is how softness becomes strength: not through force, but through flexibility, persistence, and alignment with natural flow.

How to Practice This Wisdom Today

1. Morning Water Meditation (5-10 minutes)

Start your day by contemplating water’s wisdom.

Fill a glass with water and sit with it. Observe:

How it takes the shape of the glass without complaint
How it’s transparent—you can see through it, yet it’s essential for life
How it’s soft to touch, yet powerful enough to carve canyons
How it flows downward naturally without effort

Ask yourself:

Where am I being rigid when I could be flexible?
What am I forcing when I could allow?
Where am I fighting reality when I could flow with it?
How can I be like water today?

Drink the water slowly, consciously. Let it remind you: softness is strength.

2. Practice Yielding (Throughout the Day)

Today, look for opportunities to practice water’s way—yielding rather than forcing.

In conversations:

Instead of: Rigidly defending your position
Try: Listening deeply, staying open to being changed
Water’s way: “I don’t need to win. I need to understand.”

In conflict:

Instead of: Meeting aggression with aggression
Try: Staying soft, not absorbing the hardness
Water’s way: “I don’t have to match their energy. I can remain fluid.”

With obstacles:

Instead of: Repeatedly ramming against the same barrier
Try: Looking for alternative paths, flowing around
Water’s way: “If the door is locked, maybe there’s a window.”

In relationships:

Instead of: Being inflexible about how things “should” be
Try: Adapting to what actually is while maintaining your essence
Water’s way: “I can fit this container without losing myself.”

3. The Softness Strength Inventory (Midday Check-in)

Pause midday and notice where you’re being hard versus soft.

Hardness shows up as:

Clenched jaw or tight shoulders
Refusing to change your position
“My way or the highway” thinking
Resistance to what’s actually happening
Trying to control what you cannot
Stubbornness disguised as “principles”
Pushing when you could invite

Softness shows up as:

Relaxed body, open posture
Willingness to see other perspectives
“Let’s find a way that works” thinking
Acceptance of what is, then choosing response
Flexibility within your values
Strength that doesn’t need to prove itself
Allowing things to unfold naturally

Where can you soften without losing yourself?

4. Evening Flow Reflection (10 minutes)

Before bed, reflect on your day through the lens of water wisdom.

Write brief answers to:

Where did I force today when I could have flowed? (What was the result?)
Where did I practice water’s way—yielding, adapting, or persisting gently? (What was the result?)
What “rock” in my life am I trying to force? How could I be more like water with it?
Where am I confusing hardness with strength? Where am I confusing softness with weakness?

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness of when you’re fighting the river versus swimming with it.

A Modern Application: The Difficult Boss

Let’s get concrete. You have a boss who is rigid, controlling, and unreasonable. They micromanage, criticize constantly, and rarely acknowledge good work.

The hard (rigid) approach:

Match their energy—become defensive, argumentative
Stubbornly dig into your position whenever challenged
Build walls of resentment
Rigidly insist things be done your way
Complain constantly but refuse to adapt or leave
Let the situation harden you into bitterness

The result: You become as rigid as they are. The rock meets rock. Both crack. You’re miserable, they’re entrenched, nothing changes except your growing resentment.

The water (soft) approach:

1. Don’t absorb their hardness: Like water, you don’t become hard when encountering rock. You stay soft. Their rigidity is their issue, not yours. You maintain your fluidity.

2. Find the path of least resistance: Learn their patterns. When do they micromanage most? When are they more flexible? Work with their rhythms rather than against them. Water doesn’t fight the riverbed—it uses it.

3. Yield without surrendering: You can adapt to their style without losing your integrity. Water takes the shape of its container but remains water. You can work within their constraints while maintaining your values and ultimately your separate identity.

4. Persist gently: Instead of one big confrontation, you practice consistent, gentle influence. Share ideas as questions: “What if we tried…?” Document your wins quietly. Let results speak softly but persistently.

5. Flow around if necessary: If this rock cannot be worn down, water finds another path. Maybe you transfer departments. Maybe you seek opportunities elsewhere. Water doesn’t destroy itself trying to move an immovable rock—it flows around it.

The result: You stay sane, healthy, and effective. You work skillfully within the situation while it serves you, and you flow onward when it doesn’t. You don’t become brittle. You remain fluid.

The key: You’re not being weak or passive. You’re being strategically soft—which is the strongest position.

The Deeper Philosophy

Wu Wei: Effortless Action

The Tao Te Ching introduces the concept of wu wei, often translated as “non-action” or “effortless action.” This doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means acting in alignment with natural flow rather than against it.

Think about swimming:

Against the current (hard way): Exhausting, ineffective, dangerous
With the current (soft way): Effortless, powerful, sustainable

Most people live like they’re constantly swimming upstream, then wonder why everything is so hard.

Wu wei is the art of:

Knowing when to act and when to allow
Pushing when there’s momentum, pausing when there’s resistance
Working with reality as it is, not as you wish it were
Minimal effort for maximum effect
Action that feels natural, not forced

Water embodies wu wei perfectly. It never forces, yet it accomplishes everything.

The Power of Emptiness

Lao Tzu taught that the most useful part of a cup is the empty space that can hold water. The most useful part of a room is the empty space you can inhabit. The most useful part of a wheel is the empty hub around which it turns.

Emptiness enables functionality.

In human terms:

An empty mind can receive new ideas (a full mind cannot)
An open schedule can accommodate opportunities (a packed schedule cannot)
A yielding person can adapt to change (a rigid person cannot)
A soft heart can give and receive love (a hardened heart cannot)

Our culture celebrates fullness: packed calendars, strong opinions, certainty, accumulation. Lao Tzu suggests the opposite: emptiness, flexibility, mystery, and simplicity are where power actually resides.

The Gentle Way Compounds

Like water carving canyons, softness works through patient accumulation of small actions.

One raindrop doesn’t carve rock. But thousands of raindrops over years? Canyons.

One gentle conversation doesn’t transform a relationship. But years of soft, persistent presence? Deep connection.

One day of flexibility doesn’t change your life. But years of flowing with rather than against? A completely different trajectory.

Hardness gets dramatic short-term results. Softness gets profound long-term transformation.

Your Practice for Today

Here’s your challenge based on Lao Tzu’s teaching:

Identify one place where you’ve been hard (rigid, forcing, pushing) and experiment with softness instead.

Maybe you’ve been:

Rigidly insisting a relationship work a certain way
Forcing a career path that keeps hitting obstacles
Stubbornly maintaining a position that’s causing suffering
Pushing against someone or something with no progress
Hardening your heart to protect it
Refusing to adapt to changed circumstances

For today, try water’s approach:

Stop forcing. Notice where you’re pushing against immovable reality.
Find the path of least resistance. Is there an easier way? A flow you’ve been ignoring?
Stay soft while staying strong. Can you adapt without losing your essence?
Persist gently if needed. Small, consistent, soft action over time.
Flow around if necessary. Is this the only path, or have you become rigid about the route?

Just for today, be water.

Notice what happens when you stop being the immovable rock and become the persistent stream.

Essential Reading: Dive Deeper into Lao Tzu

If this teaching resonates with you, explore these books:

Primary Source:

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

The source of today’s wisdom—81 short, profound verses
Multiple translations available; Mitchell’s is poetic and accessible
Perfect for daily contemplative reading

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Gia-Fu Feng translation)

Beautiful calligraphy edition
More literal translation for those seeking scholarly accuracy
Includes Chinese characters

Modern Interpretations:

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Uses Winnie the Pooh to explain Taoist principles
Gentle, humorous, surprisingly profound
Perfect introduction for Western readers

365 Tao: Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao

Year of daily Taoist wisdom and practices
Bridges ancient philosophy with daily life
Beautiful, contemplative format

Applied Wisdom:

The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts

Deep dive into the philosophy of flow
Written by master interpreter of Eastern thought for Western minds
Explores wu wei and living with the Tao

Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown

Modern application of effortless action (wu wei)
Practical strategies for going with flow
Bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary productivity

Closing Reflection

Lao Tzu observed something that nature demonstrates daily but our culture consistently ignores: the softest things ultimately prevail over the hardest.

Not through force. Through persistence, flexibility, and working with reality rather than against it.

Today you’ll face obstacles. Some you can change, some you cannot. Some paths will open, others will close. Reality won’t care about your preferences.

You can meet all of this with hardness—rigid insistence that things be different than they are, forceful pushing against immovable obstacles, brittle positions that crack under pressure.

Or you can meet it with softness—flexibility that allows you to adapt, persistence that keeps flowing without forcing, openness that enables you to see paths you’re currently blind to.

Water doesn’t fight the mountain. Water becomes the Grand Canyon.

Not today. Not this week. But persistent softness, given time, transforms everything it touches.

What is soft is strong.

How will you be like water today?

Reflection Questions

Take a moment to journal or contemplate:

Where in my life am I being a rigid rock when I could be flowing water?
What am I forcing that would work better if I allowed it to unfold naturally?
Where am I confusing hardness/stubbornness with strength?
How can I practice persistence without force in one specific situation?

Tomorrow’s Wisdom

Join us tomorrow as we explore a teaching from Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, on finding meaning even in the midst of suffering and how that meaning becomes the key to survival.

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Deepen Your Practice: 📚 Start with Tao Te Ching – Read Lao Tzu’s original verses 📖 The Tao of Pooh – Accessible introduction to Taoist wisdom 🌊 The Watercourse Way – Deep dive into flowing with life 💧 365 Tao – Daily Taoist meditations for a year