Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
- First, we're advised to deal with small problems before they turn into big ones.
- Then we're reminded that the biggest trees grow from small saplings and that the tallest towers start from heaps of dirt.
- Also, the longest journeys start with the dirt beneath our feet.
- So everything has to start somewhere, right?
- Again, the TTC reminds us not to meddle too much or grasp too hard, or else we'll fail in what we try to do.
- It's also important to put just as much energy into the end of a task as the beginning; otherwise, we'll fail for sure.
- The sages desire not to desire.
- They don't value things that are hard to get.
- They try to help people, but they're always careful not to meddle too much in what's going on around them.