A Dragon Hidden Among Men

The contented man can be happy with what appears to be useless. 
He can find worthwhile occupation in forests and mountains. 
He stays in a small cottage and associates with the simple. 
He would not exchange his worn clothes for the imperial robes, nor the load on his back for a horse drawn carriage.
He leaves the jade in the mountains and the pearls in the sea. 
Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he can be happy (without reason) for he knows when to stop.
He does not pick the brief blossoming flower; he does not travel the dangerous road. 
To him the 10.000 possessions are dust in the wind. 
He sings as he travels among the green mountains.
He finds sheltering branches more comforting than gated mansions, the plough in his hands more rewarding than the prestige of titles and banners, fresh mountain water more satisfying than the feasts of the wealthy. 
He acts in true freedom. 
What can competition for honors mean to him? 
What attractions can anxiety and greed possibly hold? 
Through simplicity he has Tao, and from Tao, everything.
When he looks up it is not in envy, when he looks down, it is not with arrogance.
Many look at him, but few see him. 
Calm and detached he is free from all danger, a dragon hidden among men.

Unknown.