--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is…" description: "\"A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood.\" — Franz Kafka" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg" --- # A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its… ![“A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood.” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg) > “A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood.” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wooden stair that never bears footfall is seen as merely a boring object, lacking purpose or meaning. **In simple terms:** An unused stair is just a boring piece of wood. Key Takeaway Find purpose in being used. Themes purpose meaning utilization existence mundanity Mood reflective philosophical thoughtful Type aphilosophical reflective When to use this quote - architecture - personal growth - career - community engagement Key Concepts Existentialism objecthood value perception Questions to Reflect On - How does use give meaning to objects? - What can you repurpose to add value? A Different Perspective Even unused objects can hold potential if reimagined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) ## Related quotes > [“Where I'm is one of those stair climbing machines the agent has installed. You climb and climb forever and never get off the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/where-i-m-is-one-of-those-stair-climbing-machines-the-agent-has/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Morning came, and a grey wash of light found Dan, his cheek thrust hard in the carpeted right-angle of the bottom stair”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/morning-came-and-a-grey-wash-of-light-found-dan-his-cheek-thrust-hard/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [The other day upon the stair, I saw a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today; how I wish he'd go away!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/the-other-day-upon-the-stair-i-saw-a-man-who-wasn-t-there-he-wasn-t/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/now-is-the-dramatic-moment-of-fate-watson-when-you-hear-a-step-upon/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [To ask me is in vain; For who goes up your winding stair Can ne'er come down again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-howitt/to-ask-me-is-in-vain-for-who-goes-up-your-winding-stair-can-ne-er/) [Mary Howitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-howitt/) > [I summon to the winding ancient stair; Set all your mind upon the steep ascent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-summon-to-the-winding-ancient-stair-set-all-your-mind-upon-the/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“All rising to a great place is by a winding stair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/all-rising-to-a-great-place-is-by-a-winding-stair/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-you-hear-a-step-upon-the-stair-which-is-walking-into-your-life/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“I will not exorcise you—I’d miss your fragrance, the soft tread of your step on the stair”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-geddes/i-will-not-exorcise-you-i-d-miss-your-fragrance-the-soft-tread-of/) [john j geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-geddes/) > [“Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, I wish to hell he'd go away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/yesterday-upon-the-stair-i-met-a-man-who-wasn-t-there-he-wasn-t-there/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [If you talk to anyone who's done a stair fall, there's not one stair fall, no matter how many pads you have on or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-till/if-you-talk-to-anyone-who-s-done-a-stair-fall-there-s-not-one-stair/) [Lucas Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-till/) > [As I was going up the stair I met a man who wan't there He wasn't there again today Oh I wish he'd go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hughes-mearns/as-i-was-going-up-the-stair-i-met-a-man-who-wan-t-there-he-wasn-t/) William Hughes Mearns > [“Now let us go, love, down the winding stair, With fingers intertwined...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/now-let-us-go-love-down-the-winding-stair-with-fingers-intertwined/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [“But walking down the stairs feeling each stair carefully and holding to the banister he thought, I must get her away and get her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/but-walking-down-the-stairs-feeling-each-stair-carefully-and-holding/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The carpeting on the stair risers caught, racing up to the first-floor level as if to tell dreadful good news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-carpeting-on-the-stair-risers-caught-racing-up-to-the-first-floor/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Boring quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience's misconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/the-films-i-find-boring-are-the-ones-that-have-no-space-for-the/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-always-felt-that-dark-lyrics-with-dark-music-is-pretty-useless/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [Plumbing is usually boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/plumbing-is-usually-boring/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) Browse all 3,123 Boring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is-regarded-from-its-own-point/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is-regarded-from-its-own-point/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/franz-kafka-214_boring_a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is_2327048.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made…” — Franz Kafka", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A stair not worn hollow by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is-regarded-from-its-own-point/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-stair-not-worn-hollow-by-footsteps-is-regarded-from-its-own-point/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```