--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The highest goodness resembles water…" description: "\"“The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention It stays in places that people dislike Therefore it is si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg" --- # The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly… ![“The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention It stays in places that people dislike Therefore it is similar to the Tao1 Dwelling at the right place Heart with great depth2 Giving with great kindness3 Words with great integrity4 Governing with great…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg) > ““The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention It stays in places that people dislike Therefore it is similar to the Tao1 Dwelling at the right place Heart with great depth2 Giving with great kindness3 Words with great integrity4 Governing with great administration5 Handling with great capability6 Moving with great timing7 Because it does not contend It is therefore beyond reproach”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True goodness mirrors water: humble, adaptable, non‑contentious, and effective without force. **In simple terms:** Be like water: humble and adaptable. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and flexibility. Themes humility adaptability non‑contention leadership Mood calm reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - leadership - personal growth - team management Key Concepts Taoism philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you assert influence while remaining humble? - When does adaptability become indecisiveness? A Different Perspective Water’s passivity can be misinterpreted as weakness in competitive environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Supreme good is like water. Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict. It flows through places that people loathe. Thereby it is close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/supreme-good-is-like-water-water-greatly-benefits-all-things-without/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-the-wrong-choices-bring-us-to-the-right-place/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe in faithfully, steadily paying your dues. That way youll be in the right place when the right time comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-in-faithfully-steadily-paying-your-dues-that-way-youll-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Earth's the right place for love. I don't know where it's likely to go better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/earth-s-the-right-place-for-love-i-don-t-know-where-it-s-likely-to-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Worship is a great way to get your heart and mind in the right place. You cant worship and worry at the same time:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worship-is-a-great-way-to-get-your-heart-and-mind-in-the-right-place/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A simple hug from the one you love is the biggest satisfaction in the world…¥¥ b'Coz u know you are in the right place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-simple-hug-from-the-one-you-love-is-the-biggest-satisfaction-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Trust the Law of Attraction to match you with the right people and events, and you will always be in your right place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trust-the-law-of-attraction-to-match-you-with-the-right-people-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything we touch in our daily lives, including our body, is a miracle. By putting the kingdom of god in the right place, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-we-touch-in-our-daily-lives-including-our-body-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life isn't a matter of being first. 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By John Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-successful-person-finds-the-right-place-for-himself-but-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/on-the-one-hand-information-wants-to-be-expensive-because-it-s-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are two ways of dealing with nonsense in this world. One way is to put nonsense in the right place; as when people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-ways-of-dealing-with-nonsense-in-this-world-one-way-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do not believe we are all created equal. Physical and emotional differences, parental guidance, varying environments, being in the right place at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-physical-and-emotional/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Goodness quotes > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Love reacts with goodness towards those who ill-treat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/love-reacts-with-goodness-towards-those-who-ill-treat-it/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [the path of goodness had a name it is called Love in it we find the key to every hope and has it's root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-path-of-goodness-had-a-name-it-is-called-love-in-it-we-find-the/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [The family remains the basic unit of society and the first school in which children learn the human, spiritual and moral values which enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-family-remains-the-basic-unit-of-society-and-the-first-school-in/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [To make one good action succeed another, is the perfection of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/to-make-one-good-action-succeed-another-is-the-perfection-of-goodness/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [A good man therefore is a standing lesson to us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/a-good-man-therefore-is-a-standing-lesson-to-us-all/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [“Sometimes resilience arrives in the moment you discover your own unshakeable goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-boyle/sometimes-resilience-arrives-in-the-moment-you-discover-your-own/) [Gregory Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-boyle/) > [What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/what-is-sin-it-is-the-glory-of-god-not-honored-the-holiness-of-god/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) [Browse all 3,129 Goodness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention It stays in places that people dislike Therefore it is similar to the Tao1 Dwelling at the right place Heart with great depth2 Giving with great kindness3 Words with great integrity4 Governing with great administration5 Handling with great capability6 Moving with great timing7 Because it does not contend It is therefore beyond reproach”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-water-greatly-benefits-myriad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goodness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-water-greatly-benefits-myriad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/anonymous-1_goodness_the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-wat_2413037.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The highest goodness resembles water Water greatly benefits myriad things without contention It stays in…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The highest goodness resembles water Water...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-water-greatly-benefits-myriad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-goodness-resembles-water-water-greatly-benefits-myriad/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```