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Proverbial Thursday – Global Proverbs and Sayings

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.

This week, I have an Afrikaans proverb to share with you from a lovely blogger, in my community. The delightful Sonel, from Sonel’s World  has contributed the following proverb that relates to the notion of Trust and a discussion on this issue that stemmed from a post in the 31 days of Free Writing Challenge.

“We always say in Afrikaans:

‘Kyk die kat uit die boom’ (Check the cat out in the tree).”– Source: Sonel

One good friend is worth many acquaintances – Source: UnknownSomething 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.

20 thoughts on “Proverbial Thursday – Global Proverbs and Sayings”

  1. Never heard of either quote before as usual, Amanda. You really know how to hunt for these obscure quotes. The first one from Sonel: that sort of tells me, go after opportunity when you see it. Seize the moment and take your chances. Or be alert around you. Be curious, be inquisitive and ask questions as that often gets you somewhere.

    The second quote: I really love it. To me, one good friend is better than having ten or more friends whom you don’t communicate with often or whom you aren’t sure you can count on. The more people you know, the more you put yourself out there to others and the more vulnerable you are. Having one friend, that friend can be there for you as a friend, pillar of support, family, chef, and so on.

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    1. Chef? You must have a wonderful friend!!! I think one can have many “friends” but they aren’t really friends in the real sense of the word. I often hear: My friend…. or I have a friend who….. and they are talking about people they have met a few times. I tend to be more reserved in calling someone a friend until I know them very well. And sometimes someone I consider a good friend lets me down or I feel has changed their attitude towards me. Friends are more important to some people than others. I had an Uncle that had many, many friends but not really one close friend and that suited him. Having one good friend can mean you can get through anything, well almost anything. There is a lot of expectations around friendship, particularly amongst younger girls and I have tried to let go of those expectations. I think it is easy to take friendships for granted too. Most relationships take a good bit of work to maintain. Both sides have to make an effort or else the frienship is lopsided. As I have gotten older I am fortunate to have developed friendship networks even though it requires more work to build friendships. Older people don’t have as many opportunities to build friendships until they are active. A bit ironic. Yet still this saying resonates with me. It also touches on our previous discussions on whether other people energize or drain ourselves. Thanks for your lovely comment Mabel and I agree with, ” when you put yourself out there to others ..the more vulnerable you are.” That is the risk but I guess this must be balanced with a view that we have to be out there to be potentially finding that one kindred spirit that makes a close friend.

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      1. This was a very interesting response to my comment. Agree that the word ‘friend’ is thrown around loosely these days. Then again, some people can be like your Uncle. We all define friendship differently. Then there’s this thing called “friends are family”, or family, and that is a whole other topic altogether.

        I think putting our selves out there and getting active is inevitable when it comes to making friends. Maybe we’re attracted to vulnerability and that helps us connect with each other aside from common interests.

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      3. I think when someone is vulnerable, we see their true emotions or they are more susceptible to being honest. In others words, often someone shows a silver of their true colours when they are vulnerable.

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      4. That may indeed be so, Mabel but if this window of showing one’s vulnerability, is actually quite a smal part of their whole makeup in relati would that mean those true colous aren’t particularly indicative of the real person? Or I am splitting hairs here?

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    3.  Mabel, this is what Sonel wrote about the quote “I also find it very hard to just trust anyone, but I do like to believe that everyone has some good in them, until they prove otherwise. Some people are just pure evil. It doesn’t mean that I am going to make myself vulnerable to everyone I meet. Like we always say in Afrikaans: ‘Kyk die kat uit die boom’ (check the cat out in the tree). ” so you were spot on with your suggestion of being alert around you.

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      1. Wise words from Sonel. I like her interpretation of that quote. You don’t really see cats up in trees…or at least I don’t where I live. So when you see one, maybe it’s a rare occasion and so you should put your guard up and wonder what’s going on.

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  2. Once again such a lovely post Amanda and thank you for the mention and I am glad you liked the saying we use in Afrikaans sometimes when we want to make sure of something. I think in English it’s close to the saying: “Look before you leap.”, or something close to it. I am glad I could share it with you and that you found it so interesting. 😀

    I love the second quote as well. One good friend sure is worth more than all the people you know. It is wonderful to know you have someone you can trust with your life and who will be there for you always. 😀

    Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day. ♥

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    1. This makes perfect sense, Sonel. I like this saying a lot and wondered what might be the reaction if I said it here in Australia. That would be interesting! Thanks back to you for introducing me to this new and interesting saying

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  3. The first quote is an odd one. I can ‘sort of’ interpret in in two ways. The first would be to think of the cat as a stranger in their midst/close by, of whom to be very wary. That assumes ‘the cat’ is not one of their own. I suppose it’s a bit like ‘Stranger Danger’. The second way is the opposite – ‘the cat’ is one of your own and someone needs to check that he/she is OK, and in no danger in whatever task they are pursuing. I rather veer towards the first, but am not at all certain.
    The second quote is one I just can’t argue with. Acquaintances mean very little. It’s true friends we all need throughout our lives, for so many reasons. Aquaintances we’ll never really ‘know’.

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    1. I am glad you agree with the second quote Millie! And I like your interpretation of the first one. I guess that to Afrikaans it may have one meaning but that doesn’t necessarily exclude another useful interpretation such as the ones you suggested. Thanks so much for contributing to the discussion. Much appreciated

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  4. I love the quote ‘One friend is worth many acquaintances’. It often makes me laugh when people on social media sites state how many ‘friends’ they have, in most cases most of these ‘friends’ are at most ‘acquaintances’. A true friend is something very special.

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