--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All things such as grass and trees are…" description: "\"All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. At their death they are withered and dry.\" — Laozi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/laozi-147_all-things_all-things-such-as-grass-and-trees-are-s_1943121.jpg" --- # All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in… ![“All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. At their death they are withered and dry.” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/laozi-147_all-things_all-things-such-as-grass-and-trees-are-s_1943121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/laozi-147_all-things_all-things-such-as-grass-and-trees-are-s_1943121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/laozi-147_all-things_all-things-such-as-grass-and-trees-are-s_1943121.jpg) > “All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. At their death they are withered and dry.” [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Natural life is soft and flexible; rigidity leads to decay and death. **In simple terms:** Flexibility sustains life; rigidity leads to death. Key Takeaway Cultivate adaptability. Themes nature flexibility impermanence Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gardening - personal growth - stress management - healthcare Key Concepts Taoism philosophy of change Questions to Reflect On - When is firmness more appropriate than flexibility? - How does adaptability affect resilience? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on softness may ignore necessary boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Taoism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taoism/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [When life begins we are tender and weak When life ends we are stiff and rigid All things, including the grass and trees, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-life-begins-we-are-tender-and-weak-when-life-ends-we-are-stiff/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If a country is governed with tolerance, the people are comfortable and honest. If a country is governed with repression, the people are depressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-a-country-is-governed-with-tolerance-the-people-are-comfortable/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas. Tolerant like the sky, all-pervading like sunlight, firm like a mountain, supple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-mark-of-a-moderate-man-is-freedom-from-his-own-ideas-tolerant/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-hard-and-stiff-will-be-broken-the-soft-and-supple-will-prevail/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/attending-fully-and-becoming-supple-can-you-be-as-a-newborn-babe/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Man at his birth is supple and tender, but in death, he is rigid and hard. Thus, suppleness and tenderness accompany life, but rigidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/man-at-his-birth-is-supple-and-tender-but-in-death-he-is-rigid-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Man, when living, is soft and tender; when dead, he is hard and tough. All animals and plants when living are tender and delicate;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/man-when-living-is-soft-and-tender-when-dead-he-is-hard-and-tough-all/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [A man is born gentle and weak. At death, he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-man-is-born-gentle-and-weak-at-death-he-is-hard-and-stiff-green/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Instead of being afraid of death, we should try to awake to life; and the only death we should escape from is to forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/instead-of-being-afraid-of-death-we-should-try-to-awake-to-life-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Life and death are one thread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/life-and-death-are-one-thread/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Knavery is supple, and can bend, but honesty is firm and upright and yields not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/knavery-is-supple-and-can-bend-but-honesty-is-firm-and-upright-and/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [That's what being a front man is all about - the idea of having something supple underneath you, that machine that roars and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/that-s-what-being-a-front-man-is-all-about-the-idea-of-having/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I believe I owe it to my body to keep it supple and fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tisca-chopra/i-believe-i-owe-it-to-my-body-to-keep-it-supple-and-fit/) [Tisca Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tisca-chopra/) > [I never go to the gym - I can't be doing with it. But I run up and down the stairs, wash my feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-never-go-to-the-gym-i-can-t-be-doing-with-it-but-i-run-up-and-down/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [The camera is simply not the supple and powerful instrument of description that the pen is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-camera-is-simply-not-the-supple-and-powerful-instrument-of/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) ## More by Laozi > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If the sage wants to stand above people, he must speak to them from below. If he wants to lead people, he must follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-the-sage-wants-to-stand-above-people-he-must-speak-to-them-from/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Goodie-goodies are the thieves of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/goodie-goodies-are-the-thieves-of-virtue/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He that humbles himself shall be preserved entire. He that bends shall be made straight. He that is empty shall be filled. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-that-humbles-himself-shall-be-preserved-entire-he-that-bends-shall/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Do nondoing, strive for nonstriving, savor the flavorless, regard the small as important, make much of little, repay enmity with virtue; plan for difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-nondoing-strive-for-nonstriving-savor-the-flavorless-regard-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Without looking through the window, you can see Heaven's Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/without-looking-through-the-window-you-can-see-heaven-s-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-s-the-difference-between-beautiful-and-ugly/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [In stillness the muddied water returns to clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-stillness-the-muddied-water-returns-to-clarity/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [He (the sage) is good to those who are good. He is also good to those who are not good. That is the virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/he-the-sage-is-good-to-those-who-are-good-he-is-also-good-to-those/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Explore all 1,140 Laozi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. 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The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All things such as grass and trees are soft and supple in life. 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