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A journey of a thousand miles: the most misquoted line in the TTC
I came to a pleasing little realisation the other day which I wanted to share. I was contemplating the philosophical difference between the translation of this line that crops up in most translations - "a journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one's feet" - and the traditional misquote: "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step".
While they point to comparable ideas, the "single step" interpretation implies the journey begins with the first step, whereas "beneath one's feet" shows that, even before we take our first step, we are already on the journey, before we move at all, the space beneath our feet IS the first step. This gives me the impression of being constantly in flux; even before I act, already I'm in process.
While they point to comparable ideas, the "single step" interpretation implies the journey begins with the first step, whereas "beneath one's feet" shows that, even before we take our first step, we are already on the journey, before we move at all, the space beneath our feet IS the first step. This gives me the impression of being constantly in flux; even before I act, already I'm in process.
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