59th Verse
In governing people and serving nature,
nothing surpasses thrift and moderation.
Restraint begins with giving up one’s own ideas.
This depends on virtue gathered in the past.
If there is a good store of virtue, then nothing is impossible.
If nothing is impossible, then there are no limits.
If a man knows no limits, he is fit to lead.
This is the way to be deeply rooted and firmly planted in the Tao, the secret of long life and lasting vision.
Living by Thrift
and Moderation
There are four words that crop up repeatedly in many of the translations of this passage of the Tao Te Ching: restraint, frugality, moderation, and thrift. Here, Lao-tzu is advising you to examine the way you look at these qualities in relation to your supervisory and parenting roles—he doesn’t say that you should sit on the sidelines and do nothing, but he does counsel you to practice self-control. When you cultivate a style of leadership that creates “a good store of virtue, then nothing is impossible,” for there are no limits.
Living in thrift and moderation means being in harmony with the world through your generous nature. Rather than continually prodding, directing, giving orders, setting down rules, and demanding obedience, it’s important to be a leader who accumulates a warehouse full of virtue by living in accordance with the Tao. When that’s what you have to give away, you’ll naturally interfere less. Feel joyful knowing that the example you’re modeling is helping others make the right choices, as this is the essence of Tao leadership. As Lao-tzu specifically states, “If a man knows no limits, he is fit to lead.”
People whose lives are run by rules, dogma, and fear can only do what they’ve been told to do . . . nothing more. The options for self-direction are nonexistent for the blindly obedient, so practice restraint, moderation, frugality, and thrift when making pronouncements about how others must behave. Children raised in families where that blind obedience is demanded have the highest levels of prejudice when they become adults. Why? Because they’ve been taught to “prejudge” what’s acceptable, according to someone in a position to lead them. That’s why it’s so vital to give your kids an example of leadership that encourages them to make choices based on higher standards.
I have a gift from my daughter Saje that I’ve placed on my desk, which I’ve titled Nothing Is Impossible. It’s a green plant growing out of a rock—there’s no dirt or earth, only hard rock, yet it thrives, despite what all of us have been taught to believe. When Saje gave this to me, she remarked that it reminded her of me because I’ve always said that I refuse to believe in anything being impossible. My plant helps me remember that nature knows no limits, and that I am as much a part of nature as both the rock and the greenery growing within that hard stone.
Lao-tzu reminds you that “if nothing is impossible, then there are no limits.” So practice living without limits by gathering virtue and modeling it. When you do, you’ll see the “lasting vision” in those you’ve been selected to lead in one way or another, and they’ll see it in you, too. And put the wisdom of this 59th verse to work for you by taking these suggestions:
Gather as much virtue as you possibly can.
For years I practiced gathering virtue without realizing it. I sent hundreds of thousands of books to individuals and organizations at my own expense, getting into the habit of beginning each day with this act of love. I spent a great deal of time giving away much of what I earned, almost all of it anonymously. I didn’t realize it at the time, but what I was doing was accumulating virtue, or what I facetiously called “God points.”
I then found that not all of my life was to be peaks and mountaintops. Yet when I succeeded in getting out from under what felt like a mountain, I was virtually unscathed. This is because I was so deeply rooted and firmly planted in the Tao that my original vision was to be a lasting one, impervious to external circumstances.
Practice moderating your ego.
Change the way you look at your life by moderating your ego. See yourself as a being who gives rather than collects, and live on what you need rather than practicing conspicuous consumption. You’ll begin to see that your purpose has more to do with Tao consciousness than ego directives. When you moderate your demands and use only what you and your family require, you’ll gather virtue points by serving rather than accumulating. Lao-tzu reminds you that this is “the secret of long life and lasting vision.”
William Shakespeare described this more than 2,000 years after Lao-tzu’s passing in his play The Third Part of Henry the Sixth:
My crown is in my heart, not on my head;
Not deck’d with diamonds and Indian stones,
Nor to be seen. My crown is call’d content;
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.
Do the Tao Now
Make a commitment
