History & Traditions

Proverbial Thursday – Proverbs and Sayings from around the World

Forestwood

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader. Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned. Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

Each Thursday, I post a Proverb or Saying and a quote that I find thought-provoking.  I hope you will too.

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.    -Ashanti Proverb

“I like the dreams of the future, better than the history of the past”

           – Thomas Jefferson

It you are reading history, the above quote and proverb is something to ponder about

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

25 thoughts on “Proverbial Thursday – Proverbs and Sayings from around the World”

  1. The first proverb is probably true. Even a single lie is enough to destroy our trust in a person. As for the second quote … As a history-loving person I adore looking into the past and think we can learn a lot from studying how we’ve reached the place we are in today. But dreams of the future are undeniably important, too. Both are necessary in our lives.

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    1. I agree Millie with the proverb but the quote did make me think how history can be quite negative, even though it is so interesting. I guess it us how we view those events and what we take from that. There are many lessons we can learn and gain much understanding about the human psyche if we look at history. I wonder if Jefferson was reflecting more about the tragedies than the valuable lessons and the bigger picture?

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      1. Perhaps Jefferson was reflecting on the tragedies, but he was definitely focusing on a better future, as we all should be, I suppose. But right now, with global warming, environmental degradation, species extinctions, wars, poverty and starvation etc. it’s hard to be positive about the future. lol I’m getting morbid now. So many things need to change.. But there’s always hopes and dreams.
        I agree that there’s a lot of negative and depressing events in history. It would be nice to think that mankind has learned from past mistakes, but that hasn’t always been the case.
        Jefferson’s quote is certainly thought-provoking, though, so thank you for that, Amanda.

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      2. You demonstrate an educated understanding of the world with this comment, Millie. I can see we think in similar ways. There are so many problems facing our world and humanity today, and it is mostly gloom and doom. I studied Environmental Science and quite frankly, it is mostly a depressing negative field. Mind you, if we have hope for the future, we have to know what we did wrong, in order to make it right! And if Jefferson was alluding to this, then I would definitely agree with this quote. Aren’t these old proverbs and quotes, interesting. They have so many layers !!!! I love them!!!!

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      3. I love quotes and proverbs and am still hoping to find the time to do some posts, as we discussed before. Right now, I’ve a lot of historical posts to write up from places I’ve visited recently. As for Environmental Science, it was my other teaching subject besides Geography. Then when I did my Geology degree, there were lots of environmental issues to explore (mostly about the effects of mineral and ore extraction on the land). So yes, we do seem to have a lot of interests in common – which is great. It’s good to find like-minded people. That quote seems to have got us both going ten-to-the-dozen. Many layers, for certain!

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      4. Aha! I don’t always understand why my kids don’t have the same zeal fir geography or Env. SC. -but disappointed with that. But they must make their own way with their interests. And they do seem to have more awareness of these issues and the world than their peers, so for that I am grateful. Having said that it is so good to have you as a blogger pal!!!

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    1. Thanks, Ineke! For some people trust is very important in relationships and others are too trusting i guess there is a kind of spectrum of trust and we sit along the length somewhere.

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      4. Yes I guess so. Introverts defintely have a more measured response. But then extroverts are not always impulsive, so that they must have a wider circle within which to place their trust, than introverts! Certainly is a crucial quality …….

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  4. I like the first quote a lot. Tell a lie, or say something at the wrong place at the wrong time often reveals one true colours. Okay, maybe we are really not like that all the time and it could be just in the heat of the moment or we may be having a bad day – but one untruth or mean word certainly shows what we are capable of and another side to ourselves. It is always worthwhile asking ourselves, “What is trust? Why do we trust?” in these instances. Sometimes the falsehood might be a blessing in disguise, letting us see things and others in a new light.

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    1. Wow that is pretty profound, Mabel. Falsehoods can indeed be a blessing. I am someone who finds it difficult initially to trust strangers. I give a certain amount to newcomers but hold back on more serious or intimate matters of trust. I guess I see it as being cautious whilst others might see it as being hard to get to know. In answer to your question “Why do we trust?” I don’t yet have a complete answer – what do you think? Not trusting anyone closes off much of the external world.

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      1. That was meant to be a rhetorical question (hard to figure out in the first place, though) 😀 The chapter I’m currently drafting for my book is about trust – why we trust, and does culture or our background get in the way of trust more. So that Ashanti proverb was timely.

        You are right. There are two sides of the coin when it comes to trust. I suppose if we know the person for a while, we might be more inclined to be forgiving when falsehood crops up.

        I suppose we trust because there’s an opportunity to build friendship and perhaps later down the track, build love and become better versions of ourselves. After all, we’re all social creatures of some sort.

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      2. Yeh, I realized it was rhetorical but it was a darn good question. It made me really delve deeper into the topic! What is your book about, Mabel? That sounds really interesting

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      3. My book is about being Asian Australian, and finding confidence as a writer. Each chapter is themed, for instance, trust, language, racism…ah, I’m giving too much away too early 😀

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