Huainanzi - Entry 91

Trey Smith

An ancient sage king warned, "Be careful of each day that goes by, with the greatest possible caution. No one stumbles over a mountain, but people do trip over anthills." So, the fact that people generally slight small problems and subtle matters is the very reason they have so many regrets. To worry about trouble after it happens is like a sick man seeking good treatment only when his condition becomes critical.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

This is another way of saying, "The devil is in the details."

Often, I think one of the greatest banes of humankind is inattention. Even when we THINK we are focused and detailed, we fail to recognize the ripple effect of our actions. We ignore the variables that most likely will blow up in our faces to create [foreseeable] difficulties and controversies.

Our vision tends to be so myopic. We tell ourselves that we are looking with our eyes when, in fact, we gaze at life through our egos and those egos are champions of self-serving distortions.

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.