Translation
When its politics are boring, its people are honest.
When its politics are scrutinized, its people are imperfect.
Misfortune, yet of good fortune its resting place
Good fortune, yet of misfortune its hiding place
Who knows such extremes? It’s not mainstream.
Mainstream turns to strange,
Good turns to evil.
The people have been long confused.
Thus, the wise are upright, yet not cuttingly so.
Honest, yet not stabbingly so.
Straightforward, yet not wantonly so.
Honorable yet not gloriously so.
his (its; their; they; that) politics (affairs of a family or organization) bored (depressed; stuffy), his (its; their; they; that)the people (civilian) pure (honest).
his (its; their; they; that) politics (affairs of a family or organization) examine (scrutinize; look into), his (its; their; they; that)the people (civilian) lack (incomplete; be absent; vacancy).
misfortunes (disaster; ruin) still (yet; esteem, set great store by) good fortune (happiness) of place lean on or against (reply on> biased,partial).
good fortune (happiness) still (yet; esteem, set great store by) misfortunes (disaster; ruin) of place bend over (lie prostrate; subside).
who know (realize; tell) his (its; their; they; that) extreme (pole; extremely; utmost), his (its; their; they; that) nothing (without; not) straight (upright; main; in the middle).
straight (upright; main; in the middle) duplicate (answer; again) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) strange (rare; surprise),
good (satisfactory) duplicate (answer; again) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) demon (evil spirit; bewitching).
human being (man; people; adult) of be confused (be lost; perplex; fascinate; enchant) his (its; their; they; that) sun (day; daily) solid (firm; <formal>in the first place, originally, admittedly) for a long time (long; of a specified duration).
<grm> is (<formal> this; that) use (take; so as to_and; as well as) sage (wise man) square (upright; honest; direction; side; method) <conj.>(and / but (not) no (not) cut.
honest <conj.>(and / but (not) no (not) cut (stab).
straight (perpendicular; just; frank; stiff; directly; simply) <conj.>(and / but (not) no (not) wanton (unbridled; > shop).
light (brightness, honor; glory; smooth; … naked; alone) <conj.>(and / but (not) no (not) look into the distance from a high place.
Original
其政闷闷，
其民淳淳。
其政察察，
其民缺缺。
祸尚福之所倚。
福尚祸之所伏。
孰知其极，
其无正。
正复为奇，
善复为妖。
人之迷其日固久。
是以圣人
方而不割。
廉而不刿。
直而不肆。
光而不耀。
Commentary
When the government is muddled, the people are simple; when the government is alert, the people are cunning speaks not only to big government but also to small scale governance – from the governance of ourselves, to parenting , to employing, and on up the hierarchical chain.
For me, this addresses the wisdom of taking life step by step, like a journey of a thousand miles, compared to forcing life to conform to my agenda (the ideal of what should be). The former allows me to respond to each step as it unfolds in a simple, honest, and straightforward way. The later, agenda driven approach scrutinizes the steps along the way, and contending with them, I focus on imperfection rather than on that which is naturally so.
The difficulty of imposing our agenda (ideals) onto life is that we will find ourselves swinging more and more from one extreme to the other. The more acutely aware we are of the good, mainstream, and straightforward, the more acute becomes the opposite. Simply put: Our sorrows lie in that which we hold most dear. (These two are the same, but diverge in name as they issue forth.)
We tend to believe that somehow we can have all the good, mainstream, and straightforward, and somehow escape the other side of the coin. I like to think of this as being just another biological hoodwink to get us to act in the world. After all, nature has no need to enlighten us as to how it operates. For all other species this works out well and balance is maintained. Because we approach life with such idealized versions of how life ’should’ be, we react far out of proportion to what is actually so. Our ability to think enables us to make mountains out of molehills.
Viscerally knowing that this is how ‘it’ is, one can’t help but be upright, yet not cuttingly so;. Honest, yet not stabbingly so; Straightforward, yet not wantonly so; Honorable yet not gloriously so. Seeing both sides of the coin makes it all very easy to put into practice (and downright impossible to do otherwise! , ‘It happens to us naturally.’).