--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine" description: "\"“Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine”\" — Lao Tzu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg" --- # Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine ![“Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine” quote by Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg) > ““Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine”” [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Broad opportunities exist, but careful scrutiny catches the details. **In simple terms:** Wide net, fine mesh. Key Takeaway Pay attention to details within large possibilities. Themes wisdom attention detail opportunity Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - investment decisions - talent scouting - quality control Key Concepts Taoist philosophy metaphor risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance breadth and detail? - When is fine scrutiny essential? A Different Perspective Over‑focus on minutiae can miss the bigger picture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven Net](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-net-3126427/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mesh/) [Mesh Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mesh-fine-5034795/) [Net Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/net-wide-1863164/) [Wide Mesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide-mesh-5034794/) ## Related quotes > [Heaven's net is very vast. It is sparsely meshed, yet nothing slips through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/heaven-s-net-is-very-vast-it-is-sparsely-meshed-yet-nothing-slips/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Even if your Ego Doesn't Grasp it, this is the Truth: Everything is on Time Under Heaven's Net](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/even-if-your-ego-doesn-t-grasp-it-this-is-the-truth-everything-is-on/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [The only really conscious decision I made was to cast my net wide and if the work was good, to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/the-only-really-conscious-decision-i-made-was-to-cast-my-net-wide-and/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [The problem - when you cast your net that wide - is you inevitably catch something you don't want to catch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-felten/the-problem-when-you-cast-your-net-that-wide-is-you-inevitably-catch/) [Edward Felten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-felten/) > [But I've also spread my net very wide. If there's one thing that I've done on purpose it's to take whatever job, so long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/but-i-ve-also-spread-my-net-very-wide-if-there-s-one-thing-that-i-ve/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-man-who-tells-secrets-or-stories-must-think-of-who-is-hearing-or-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [God gave a law ... called justice. But they have made a law for themselves that is terrible and intricate, and they cannot escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-sampter/god-gave-a-law-called-justice-but-they-have-made-a-law-for-themselves/) [Jessie Sampter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-sampter/) > [Thank you... adjustable baseball caps with no logo on the front and mesh netting in the back, for being a great way to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/thank-you-adjustable-baseball-caps-with-no-logo-on-the-front-and-mesh/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [Bicycling unites physical harmony coupled with emotional bliss to create a sense of spiritual perfection that combines one's body, mind and spirit into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/bicycling-unites-physical-harmony-coupled-with-emotional-bliss-to/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [My two interests are spirituality and politics. I would mesh them in some way; maybe try to figure out the politics of spirituality, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/my-two-interests-are-spirituality-and-politics-i-would-mesh-them-in/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-man-who-tells-secrets-or-stories-must-think-of-who-is-hearing-or/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I mesh with anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harden/i-mesh-with-anyone/) [James Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harden/) > [motherhood is the great mesh in which all human relations are entangled, in which lurk our most elemental assumptions about love and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/motherhood-is-the-great-mesh-in-which-all-human-relations-are/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Now here is a key: you want to make it real and present in the realm of your consciousness. You don't say "I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leonard/now-here-is-a-key-you-want-to-make-it-real-and-present-in-the-realm/) [George Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leonard/) > [To me, there is nothing more soothing than the song of a mosquito that can't get through the mesh to bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/to-me-there-is-nothing-more-soothing-than-the-song-of-a-mosquito-that/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) ## More by Lao Tzu > [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Gravity is the root of lightness;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/gravity-is-the-root-of-lightness/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Therefore the Tao is great;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/therefore-the-tao-is-great/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/not-seeking-not-expecting-she-is-present-and-can-welcome-all-things/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“What all men fear is indeed to be feared;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/what-all-men-fear-is-indeed-to-be-feared/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Just remain in the center; watching. And then forget that you are there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/just-remain-in-the-center-watching-and-then-forget-that-you-are-there/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-what-is-called-the-mysterious-quality-of-the-tao/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“If you show yourself, you will not be seen. If you affirm yourself, you will not shine. If you boast, you will have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-you-show-yourself-you-will-not-be-seen-if-you-affirm-yourself-you/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/the-thirty-spokes-unite-in-the-one-nave-but-it-is-on-the-empty-space/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“To know and yet (think) we do not know is the highest (attainment); not to know (and yet think) we do know is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/to-know-and-yet-think-we-do-not-know-is-the-highest-attainment-not-to/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/he-who-knows-other-men-is-discerning-he-who-knows-himself-is/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“If you are depressed, you are living in the past; if you are anxious, you are living in the present; if you are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-you-are-depressed-you-are-living-in-the-past-if-you-are-anxious/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Simplicity without a name Is free from all external aim. With no desire, at rest and still, All things go right as of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/simplicity-without-a-name-is-free-from-all-external-aim-with-no/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/when-gold-and-jade-fill-the-hall-their-possessor-cannot-keep-them-safe/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/we-listen-to-it-and-we-do-not-hear-it-and-we-name-it-the-inaudible/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) [Explore all 434 Lao Tzu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) ## More Heaven quotes > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [By the time you have no difficulties in your life, you have achieved Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brown/by-the-time-you-have-no-difficulties-in-your-life-you-have-achieved/) [Charles Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brown/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/god-is-the-highest-good-of-the-reasonable-creature-and-the-enjoyment/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) [Browse all 9,540 Heaven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lao Tzu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fine/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heaven" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fine/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/lao-tzu-624_heaven_heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fin_2233614.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine” — Lao Tzu", "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": "Lao Tzu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Heaven's net is wide, but its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fine/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/heaven-s-net-is-wide-but-its-mesh-is-fine/#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 } } ] } ```