Soft water wears away stone.

Most of us live braced against life: pushing, planning, forcing. The old Taoist teachers noticed that water yields to everything and still wears away stone, and that an empty valley holds what a mountain cannot. Their wisdom is balance: effort without strain, rest without collapse, and a way back to what is simple.

Drawing on the Tao Te Ching, the Zhuangzi and their great commentators, these twelve short chapters offer a calmer way to meet a crowded life. Each ends with a practice you can actually do: one plainer drawer, one task done at half the pressure, one gloriously useless hour.

Inside this book: • The art of not forcing, and why it works • Guarding your energy: body, breath and spirit • The water practice for moments of tension • Living through change without losing your center • Why a useless hour may be the most useful

Volume 4 of The Quiet Wisdom Series. Also in the series: Buddhism for Inner Peace, Christian Mysticism for Inner Stillness, Sufism for the Heart, Yoga for Inner Strength, Zen for a Quiet Mind, Kabbalah for the Soul.