Line by Line - Verse 64, Line 2

before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Trouble is easily overcome before it starts.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When it shows no signs, it is easy to plan
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Trouble can be nipped in the bud.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Most people I know -- including myself -- are expert procrastinators. We may see something slightly out of kilter, but we think to ourselves, "No big deal. I'll tend to that later." We put off dealing with the issue until it becomes a major tempest and then, because of its size and/or complexity, we find it cannot be dealt with so easily!

The lesson to be learned here is that it's better to deal with issues and situations BEFORE they blow up into problems.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.