Verse 20

How great is the difference between “yea” and “yeah”?
How great is the distinction between “good” and “evil”?

Must I fear what others fear? How silly!
Everyone else is joyous as if enjoying the greatest feast,

or going up the terraces in spring.
I alone am drifting without direction, like a baby who has not yet smiled.

I alone am moping as if I had no home.
Everyone else has more than they need,

I alone seem in want.
I have the mind of a fool, how confused I am!

Other people are bright and clever,
I alone am dark.

Other people are alert and self-assured,
I alone am dull and muddled.

I am unsettled like the waves of the sea, like the restless wind.
Everyone else has a purpose,

I alone am stubborn and awkward.
I am different from other people,
Even so, I am nourished by the Great.

Verse 21

The Great Virtue is to follow the Tao and only the Tao.
The Tao is shadowy and intangible.

Intangible and evasive, and yet within it is a form.
Evasive and intangible, and yet within it is a substance.

Shadowy and dark, and yet within it is a vital force.
This vital force is real and can be relied upon.

From ancient times to the present
the Tao’s instructions have not been forgotten.
Through it can be perceived the beginning of the story of life.

How do I know how it was at the beginning of the story of life?
Because of what is within me.

Verse 22

Yield and overcome; bend and be straight.
Empty out and be full; wear out and be renewed.
Have little and gain; have much and be confused.

Therefore, the True Person embraces the One
and becomes a model for all.

Do not look only at yourself, and you will see much.
Do not justify yourself, and you will be distinguished.
Do not brag, and you will have merit.
Do not be prideful, and your work will endure.

It is because you do not strive that no one under heaven can strive with you.
The saying of the Old Ones, “Yield and Overcome,” is not an empty phrase.
True wholeness is achieved by blending with life.