Line by Line - Verse 63, Line 9

and all great things from one in which they were small.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

In the universe great acts are made up of small deeds.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The large tasks of the world
Must be handled through the small tasks
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

every major project consists of simple steps.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Yes, Lao Tzu is being a bit redundant in this verse, but it is a very fundamental and essential point. Want to avoid as much stress and unhappiness as possible? Then we need to learn to deal with people and situations when problems are small and far easier to tackle.

Think of an amalgamation of snowflakes on your driveway. It is far easier and manageable to clear the driveway of snow when it's not that deep. If we wait, however, until the big storm has passed, now we're looking at a foot or more of snow covering the driveway.

What may have been two or three far easier clearings of the snow turns into a mammoth proposition that might lead to a strained back...or a heart attack.

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