51 - NATURE, NURTURE

The Way bears them;

power nurtures them;

their own being shapes them;

their own energy completes them.

And not one of the ten thousand things

fails to hold the Way sacred

or to obey its power.

Their reference for the Way

and obedience to its power

are unforced and always natural.

For the Way gives them life;

its power nourishes them,

mothers and feeds them,

completes and matures them,

looks after them, protects them.

To have without possessing,

do without claiming,

lead without controlling;

this is mysterious power.