66

How did the river carve out Simi Valley?

By flowing beneath it.

This is how the strong overcomes the seamy.

To unrepentantly allay their mistrust,

It must naturally lie close to the ground,

To support them with their cycles,

It must be down for their dumps.

To be the one for their time and place,

It must not be too busy, as I know you are.

Is this a—what day is this?

Though the Dude is more far-out than most,

The people do not feel lower than him.

Though he is an excellent bowler,

We never see him bowl.

Because he takes things easy,

The people find him easy to exalt.

Because he is in bed with everybody,

Everybody digs his work.

Because he listens and learns, eyeball to eyeball,

He increases the chances of conception.

Because he does not try to scam anyone here,

In the end, no one scams him.

Tao Te Ching: 66

What makes the rivers so noble and respected

Is that they skillfully adopt the lower position.

This is why the fertile valleys all flourish around them.

In the same way, he who wants to rule the people,

Must act with the greatest humility.

He who intends to be the face of the populace,

Must be utterly self-effacing.

To lead, he must place his ego behind.

In this way,

Though the sage actually sits above them,

The people do not feel his weight.

Though he stands out in front,

He does not block the way.

The world never tires of exalting him—

It is because his needs do not contend with theirs

That they never find any reason to contend with him.