How to be happy, part one

My book, The Asian Diet, is not about losing weigh but rather about living well and in balance. One area in which many of us are out of balance is in regard to stress. Excessive stress keeps the body in fight-or-flight mode and can cause us to retain weight, but it also makes us unhappy and robs us of the enjoyment of life. The following passage is from the Tao Te Ching. I give it to a lot of my patients who hold on to too much stress. Please forgive the gender-specificity.

Man is born gentle and supple.

At his death he is hard and stiff.

Green plants are tender and filled with sap.

At their death they are withered and dry.

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.

The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.

An army without flexibility never wins a battle.

A tree that is unbending is easily broken.

The hard and strong will fall.

The soft and yielding will overcome.

[Tao Te Ching, 76]