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.
God is a busy worker but loves to be helped – Basque proverb
The quote comes this week from forestgardenblog.
“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,
it’s a way of looking at life
through the wrong end of a telescope.”
Dr. Seuss
What is your impression of this week’s offering?
Is Dr Suess correct in stating that fantasy is necessary for life?
Something to Ponder About 
Interesting quotes this week Amanda. I agree with Dr Seuss. Without fantasy there would be no innovation, no creativity, nothing new at all. Fantasy allows us to be creative. It is the same with the first quote. My grandmother always said God helps those who help themselves. In other words God gives us our gifts and talents. But it is up to the individual to use them wisely and help ourselves and others around us. The photo is interesting in that the heart is just not quite complete. There is room for more to be added.
I always find it interesting that scientists have looked to science fiction movies and shows such as Star Trek to make some of those ‘tricks’ become real – we now have video conferencing,automatic doors ( back then they had two men with pullies opening the doors automatically, computers etc.
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Funny you should mention Star Trek, Raewyn, for when I posted this quote, I was thinking of the fantastic innovations that have come to reality as a result of Gene Roddenberry’s imaginative series. And it is right, without fantasy, or some would call it imagination, we cannot have any new ideas and innovations. In that scenario, perhaps we would onlyimprove the old, but not invent altogether new things.
Whereas, new ideas in themselves, can then give rise to other alternative ‘piggyback’ ideas and a variety of implementations in society, that even the inventor him or herself may not have first envisaged for the invented product! Although Dr Suess books are great, fantasy sometimes makes me think of the realms of twilight and escapist fiction, (which doesn’t appeal), fantasy, in terms of imagination and creativity, is a wondrous thing, the very antithesis of boring.
I actually didn’t know about the men with pulleys opening the doors on the Star Trek series, but of course, it had to be done that way, in that time! And how much do we take them and video conferencing, face time etc for granted now! I also think of the communicators, and how I used to have a flip phone, just like them back in 2005! Fantasy is many ways is groundbreaking, forward thinking and ahead of it time.
In regard to the first quote, I recall an ex Aussie Prime Minister’s mother saying something like, ” To possess intelligence itself, is nothing startling, it is what you do with it that makes it notable.” I thought of this upon reading your Grandmother’s words. The heart photo was taken at a fountain in Melbourne’s CBD. A happenstance moment when I discovered it on my walk. I thought it was great! Your interpretation on the photograph is profound. You really have a poetic mind, and it shows in your skills as a photographer! Thanks for a great conversational comment, Raewyn.
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Dr Seuss has always been a favourite of ours. His books were never far away. Our children loved them.
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The Dr Suess range was a favourite for many households, yet many people just think it is a bit of fun. They are actually quite skilfully written and make reading for the beginner reader a joy. We had many many of them too, and some fell apart from being read over and over. In a way it is a nice form of brainwashing, as I can still recite pages from ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, or ‘I’ll teach my dog 100 words’ – and I am sure my kids do too! I could never work out what kind of creature the characters were, either. That challenged my logical mind! Appreciate the comment, Gerard!
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Love the proverb – and that heart is super fun! The larger leaves add more interest to the heart as well – -and side note – I enjoyed raewyn’s comment too! However – I am not sure how I feel about fantasy – but I know it has much value!
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Hi again Prior, and I am glad that you stopped by again! The photo was taken at a water fountain in Melbourne city, and I saw it early one morning. I thought one could read so much into a simple act like that. And it seems balanced in the ways the leaves were placed so it must have been a person with a sense of design or art who did it!
I think I do understand what you mean about fantasy, as I have reservations about fantasy books such as those with content so unreal, they are preposterous. I didn’t mind the old horror story, but the twilight series and other mystical creature romance novel, and even Harry Potter left me disinterested as I think the logical side of my brain kicks in and rejects them as plausible fiction!. Fantasy in terms of imaginative inventiveness that leads to real things or occurrences, is more appealing. What is it that you dislike about fantasy?
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well thanks for asking – and I am not that sure about what I dislike about it – it is a genre very unfamiliar (if that makes sense), but I did like reading what you wrote here – especially this: “Fantasy in terms of imaginative inventiveness that leads to real things or occurrences, is more appealing.”
and this is just a side note – but a few years ago – there was this youtube video that went viral – my boys showed me and oh my goodness was it fun – this girl was at the dentist and was under anesthesia – and you know how people say certain things as they are “drugged” – well she had this fantasy depiction as her dreamy talk… she dreamt of rainbows and unicorns…. there was something beautiful about it. Innocent and pure.
anyhow, thanks for sharing about the “find” – and I agree that whoever created the heart had a bit of pizazz….
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Awww. rainbows and unicorns. Definitely sweet and innocent. Childhodd, as we discussed last week, is becoming lost amongst the globalization of the world and the push for children to become little adults. It is nice to hear that some kids can still be kids, if only in their dreams, or in their half anaesthetized state! My daughter had a medical procedure and the narcotic pain relief made her talk of little bees flying about in the room!! Still kinda sweet and innocent, I think……
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Hi – well this girl was a college student. )@(I think. That made it more special – to me….
And the bees
So cute! 🐝🐝🐝🐝
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Rawyen said it and i couldn’t agree with her more. Without creativity, I think a lot of us would be stuck in routine and we would be very similar to each other. We would almost be robotic to say the least. “the wrong end of the telescope” line caught me. In life, I think we are never perfect, and we’ll often find ourselves in situations that don’t go according to plan or we don’t expect it. What can you but roll along with what’s presented to you, and use a bit of imagination to move along.
As you mentioned earlier in the comments, sometimes imagination can be escapist. So true, and too much of that we end up being less productive. Some people can dream but get stuck in a routine and don’t feel ‘fulfilled’. Then again, being stuck in a routine isn’t totally a bad thing – security comes with that.
I don’t believe in God but I do believe in fate, that everything happens for a reason. I also believe in karma – what goes around, comes around. Help others help each other – that isn’t too bad a way to live.
That photos was taking at Collins Square in Melbourne’s CBD. The water fountain 😀
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Yes, Collins Square. That is right. Have you ever seen the heart there? I assumed it was just a one-off, but it would be lovely to think it was some kind of tradition.
The Basque proverb is interesting as I don’t usually relate too well to religious proverbs, especially those involving God. God, whether he/she/it is real or unreal, is something that is only relevant to a person in their own thinking and something quite private. A person’s attitude and actions may of course affect others, but their concept of God is something more relevant to one’s own inner thoughts. When I saw this proverb, I hesitated before posting it. Was it too controversial?
In the end, I posted it because I felt it was important to show a diversity of cultural proverbs on Prov. Thursdays, whether I find them true or not. I had not posted a Basque proverb before.
And I quite agree with the idea that we should help ourselves and others. We, as individuals, possess choice and potential influence and can help ourselves, and others. It is better to own our own thinking, to own our own individual interpretations and analysis of life and its events, not just ride the wave of life that some people feel is determined by their own version of what God may or may not be.
As for Suess: Creativity is a spice of life, if not the elixir!
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Anything to do with politics and religion is usually sensitive. We can’t help the way we believe in what we believe, and we have every right to feel passionate and emotional. But I like your diversity reasoning behind your decision to post it, and don’t think it’s controversial.
“It is better to own our own thinking” I like this a lot. Own our own thinking, and we become more confident in ourselves and our abilities. It always starts with us.
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Yes, I think that does help to increase our confidence. Confidence comes from our inner thoughts. That feeling of being confident, that sense of being in charge of one’s destiny has at its backbone: security and stability.
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I agree with Dr. Seuss’s quote because I love the idea of imagining the impossible. Besides reality can be harsh at times, and fantasy is a necessary ingredient for me. 😊
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Interesting that you bring up harsh reality, Cocoa. Life isn’t always that endless journey of happiness that we, in the developed world, come to expect it might be if we study or work hard. I guess this is why Hollywood movies are so popular as a means of entertainment. A short time to escape from reality? But then, a book or engaging activity can also provide escapism from reality. As Mabel inferred we have to find some kind of medium, some kind of balance, between escapism and routine roboticness. A little bit of creative fantasy is necessary and many times beneficial as long as we still have our feet on the ground! Thanks for your input, Cocoa!
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The first quote tallies with the old phrase, “The Lord (God) helps those who help themselves”. I’ve no idea where that originated, but it gets bandied about as a bit of a joke, But there is some truth in your quote. God can’t be expected to help anyone who just sits there, waiting and/or expecting God to help them. I think the whole idea also goes hand-in-hand with the idea that God gave us all free will so that we can make our own decisions on what to do and how to do it. Making choices can be hard, but its our own responsibility to choose. Perhaps this is a ‘looser’ connection to the quote, but I can see a similar theme.
The second quote I like because fantasy is something we all love at some stage in our lives. It’s almost a sense of ‘what if?’. There’s a saying about more things in heaven and earth, (from Hamlet?) and fantasy allows our thoughts to drift to those possibilities. Fantasy can be a release from the mundane, everyday activities of life and in that way, allow our minds time to rest, away from normality.
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I actually thought along the same lines as you did, Millie. (See above comment), although I don’t recall the Hamlet quote….it has been too long since I read Shakespeare!!
I am not too surprised that you are a fan of fantasy. It is so tied in with imagination and creativity, two essential tools for a writer like you. I also like your point that fantasy gives our minds time to rest.That is a benefit that I had not thought about. It could even be a form of ‘therapy’ for some? In that sense, Dr Suess was right!
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