--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seal the openings, shut the doors, and…" description: "\"Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/laozi-147_doors_seal-the-openings-shut-the-doors-and-unt_1440680.jpg" --- # Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day… ![“Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will not be safe.” quote by Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/laozi-147_doors_seal-the-openings-shut-the-doors-and-unt_1440680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/laozi-147_doors_seal-the-openings-shut-the-doors-and-unt_1440680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/019/laozi-147_doors_seal-the-openings-shut-the-doors-and-unt_1440680.jpg) > “Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will not be safe.” [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. Balancing openness and caution: too much openness leads to exhaustion, too much caution leads to insecurity. **In simple terms:** Find a middle path between openness and safety. Key Takeaway Seek balanced engagement, avoid extremes. Themes balance caution openness exhaustion security moderation Mood contemplative balanced wise Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - leadership training - mental health - spiritual practice - team management Key Concepts Taoism dualism life strategy risk management Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply balanced openness in daily life? - When is caution more protective than openness? A Different Perspective The advice is overly simplistic, ignoring context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Exhausted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted/) [Exhausted Widen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted-widen-5154672/) [Interfere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interfere/) [Last day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-day/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening/) [Openings Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openings-shut-5154671/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Seal Openings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seal-openings-5154670/) [Seals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seals/) [Shut Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shut-doors-1926834/) [Taoism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taoism/) [Widen Openings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/widen-openings-5154669/) ## Related quotes > [There is no time you should shut the doors, as there is always love out there for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-is-no-time-you-should-shut-the-doors-as-there-is-always-love/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [I try not to shut any doors before I even get there. I like doing music. I like singing. I love all music. Music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-shada/i-try-not-to-shut-any-doors-before-i-even-get-there-i-like-doing/) [Jeremy Shada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-shada/) > [And the sad act like lepers They stick to the shadows They long to ring bells of warning To tell of their coming So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/and-the-sad-act-like-lepers-they-stick-to-the-shadows-they-long-to/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [You can have the best team in baseball, and if nobody goes through the turnstiles, you've got to shut the doors down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lasorda/you-can-have-the-best-team-in-baseball-and-if-nobody-goes-through-the/) [Tommy Lasorda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lasorda/) > [Shut not your doors to me proud libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/shut-not-your-doors-to-me-proud-libraries/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You've tried to reform what will not learn. Shut doors on traits that you wish were dead; They will open a window and return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/you-ve-tried-to-reform-what-will-not-learn-shut-doors-on-traits-that/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [If our country has to reach its economic goals, it cannot happen with half its population shut behind doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/if-our-country-has-to-reach-its-economic-goals-it-cannot-happen-with/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [It was a shut door, and shut doors meant things kept to yourself. There were reasons you kept things to yourself, and they usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/it-was-a-shut-door-and-shut-doors-meant-things-kept-to-yourself-there/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“there is no such thing as shut doors, just ones that have yet to be opened!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-martin/there-is-no-such-thing-as-shut-doors-just-ones-that-have-yet-to-be/) [lauren martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-martin/) > [Men shut their doors against a setting sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/men-shut-their-doors-against-a-setting-sun/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Seal the openings, shut the doors, dull the sharpness, untie the knots, dim the light, become one with the dust. This is called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/seal-the-openings-shut-the-doors-dull-the-sharpness-untie-the-knots/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Probably to a shark, about the funniest thing there is is a wounded seal, trying to swim to shore, because WHERE DOES HE THINK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/probably-to-a-shark-about-the-funniest-thing-there-is-is-a-wounded/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/kings-or-parliaments-could-not-give-the-rights-essential-to-happiness/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [The impossibility of separating the nomenclature of a science from the science itself, is owing to this, that every branch of physical science must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-lavoisier/the-impossibility-of-separating-the-nomenclature-of-a-science-from/) [Antoine Lavoisier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-lavoisier/) > [We seal our fate with the choices we take, but don't give a second thought to the chances we take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/we-seal-our-fate-with-the-choices-we-take-but-don-t-give-a-second/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) ## 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 Door quotes > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [We can't love a place or a person if we always have one foot out the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/we-can-t-love-a-place-or-a-person-if-we-always-have-one-foot-out-the/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Kindness unlocks doors that were thought to be closed forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/kindness-unlocks-doors-that-were-thought-to-be-closed-forever/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Dear parents,knocking while open the door to my bedroom kind of defeats the purpose of knocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-parents-knocking-while-open-the-door-to-my-bedroom-kind-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-won-t-be-managing-the-mets-i-am-closing-the-door-on-managing-the/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [If opportunity doesnt knock, build a door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-opportunity-doesnt-knock-build-a-door/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Couples Therapy' is pretty big for me because it's opening the door to a new audience - a hip-hop following, which I feel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-carrera/couples-therapy-is-pretty-big-for-me-because-it-s-opening-the-door-to/) [Carmen Carrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-carrera/) > [“Happiness isn't something that you plan for. It comes knocking unexpectedly, just like opportunity. And it's up to you to answer the door and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/happiness-isn-t-something-that-you-plan-for-it-comes-knocking/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [Nothing attracts me like a closed door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/nothing-attracts-me-like-a-closed-door/) [Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Hayley Haslett raised her hand and tapped on the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rose/hayley-haslett-raised-her-hand-and-tapped-on-the-door/) [Carol Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rose/) > [I think you've still got to try to be good, day-to-day. You see a granny, you hold the door open for her. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-think-you-ve-still-got-to-try-to-be-good-day-to-day-you-see-a/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) [Browse all 3,104 Door quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. 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