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Proverbial Thursday – Global Proverbs and Quotes

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.

The first proverb is a little obscure, so I am hoping readers may share their thoughts about what the real meaning of this proverb could be? The second, the quotation, was chosen after hearing of reports of increased conflict in the Syrian region.

“Frog likes water, but not hot water” – Swahili Proverb

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher” – The Dalai Lama

Something to Ponder About Today

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.

26 thoughts on “Proverbial Thursday – Global Proverbs and Quotes”

  1. We know that frogs like water…could the hot water they are opposed to be that of boiling water: frog soup?

    The second quote resonates loudly, and rings full with truth. We learn nothing on the easy, it is the fraught with struggle that teaches.

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    1. Struggles certainly give us challenges and problems to solve, Coffee. I like this quote because it helps us to see everyone has value even if you don’t agree with their views/actions.

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  2. Here some wise saying as well;

    1. Voor niets gaat de zon op
    >The sun rises for freeWhen the moon is full, it shines everywhereHis moon is already breaking the cloudsAfter the rain, the sun will shine<
    (i.e. Every cloud has a silver lining)

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  3. I agree with coffeegrounded of the meaning of the first proverb. Frog unfortunately getting roasted in hot water. Also, I thought of it along these lines: it’s okay to test new waters and reach for the stars (don’t we all have dreams and goals that we want to achieve), but we have to be wary of the path we choose and who we trust. In others words, know our limits or risk getting burned. The phrase “hot soup” sprang into my mind when I read that proverb.

    Love that tolerance quote too. It need not necessarily be an enemy who tests your tolerance, though. It could simply be someone who gets on your nerves all the times – and we can either learn to put up with that or try to do something about it.

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    1. Hot frog soup!!! Oh my goodness! But your suggestion is sound, I think. In regard to the second quote, it does want us to look at the difficult situation or person in a positive light. Oftentimes people might consider themselves to be a fairly tolerant person yet still find certain persons to have different and annoying habits. They can do us a real favour for, if we keep the proverb in mind, we might find a way to consider their point of view and values with respect and acceptance.

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  4. The first one, I certainly agree has to do with a culture where frogs are considered food..:-) the second one I think is so much truth in.. and reminds me of another quote.

    “I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.”
    ― Kahlil Gibran

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    1. A really powerful quote Björn. Thanks so much for that and so appropriate!! It is strange that I didn’t consider the first quote to relate to frogs as a food source!

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  5. Well that first proberb makes me smile – just at the image that springs to mind. I’d interpret the hot water as being an unatural situation or environment for frogs – or people – that makes them feel very uncomfortable. Just as frogs don’t like hot water, people don’t like situations they can’t handle or are different to their norm – perhaps a stressful interview, for example, that makes a normal working day different/uncomfortable. Or a row at home that spoils homelife for a while.
    The second proverb is undoubtedly true. To be faced by an enemy/harsh critic/difficult situation we sometimes have no choice but to be tolerant, especially if we want to prove them wrong about us. We learn best when actually doing/practising something.
    Thought provoking, as always, Amanda.

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    1. Thank you Millie. It is always interesting discussing the various different thoughts and interpretations of the proverbs and sayings. This, in itself, shows how individual our opinions are.sometimes we agree whilst others think along another tangent There is no right or wrong. We are all tolerant of other’s points of view. What a great community of bloggers!

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      1. I agree with all you say, Amanda. Life would be so boring if we all had the same ideas! The blogging community is wonderful.I’ve learned so much since I started my blog. 😀

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      3. Despite being a techno nerd, I must admit, I don’t know what I’d do without the internet now. I almost have a panic attack when we lose connection -as we so often do in this village. It’s a wonderful learning tool.

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      4. I feel sad that libraries and books are being bypassed so readily in favour of the “new literacy” – however I also feel a little bit addicted. Nevertheless, it is a different experience to reading a whole book and digesting the total message. Do you know what I mean, Millie? The internet gives you a preview, summary or excert whereas a book/s might give you a complete picture. That is when the internet connection is stable. You might live in a village with bad net connectivity, but thanks to some political decisions Australia’s internet network is still in the ‘copper’ (read stone) age, much to my IT son’s lament.

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      5. Nothing will ever replace books for me, but the internet gives instant access for research. When I was a schoolchildren, we had to take ourselves off to the library. I agree that a whole book is so much more satisfying, and thorough.

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      6. Absolutely agree, Millie. As a young child, I had to be content with going once as fortnight with my parents, as the nearest library was 8 km away and I had exhausted both the school’s and my collection of books.

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      7. We were lucky and had a local library just round the corner, and a bigger one in the town centre, about a mile from our house. It was still annoying when teachers set the type of homework that began with, ‘Find out about …’ I’ve set classes a few of those myself, but with the internet, they have little problem.
        You sound just like me with my reading as a child, Amanda. I gobbled them up like sweets. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though. Children today don’t read nearly enough.

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      8. I know. I know! I think it is disappointing that tgey don’t read a whole books. Society is promoting laziness and shortcuts and the knowledge base will not be developed in the same way. But bookclubs are on the rise and very popular here, and I guess the internet gives us the ability to interact without geographical boundaries. What I would have googled if I had internet as a kid. But then I would not have built cubby houses, played dress ups nor raced billy carts!

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      1. It brings to mind people who like to stir up trouble and when things get heated, they sit on the sidelines playing innocent. A bit harsh perhaps but I’ve experienced this:-)

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      2. Now that you write that, I can see that the proverb could be warning us of those kinds of people. That is quite an insight! I am sorry that you had an unfortunate experience with troublemaker/s, and I hope it has not held you back in life. Many thanks for responding.

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      3. Thanks to you Amanda. Troublemakers are part of life. One has to choose his/her battles well because most of the time it’s just fluff:-)

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      5. If we’re talking about individuals forming society, I would like to believe that they certainly can ‘rebel’:-)

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  7. Yes they can rebel, but do they have a legal right to rebel, I wonder? A few years back, a ruling was made in the courts here than the individual did in fact, have a right to rebel!

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