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 and hope you do too.
Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
-Spanish Proverb
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”*
― Edmund Burke
World history is such an interesting topic, but also can be heartbreaking to study. We seek to learn from it, yet so often I can see recurring themes and incidents. Different places and people but the same lesson over and over again. Do you see them too?
Cambodia, Auschwitz, Bosnia, Syria, Australia! Even in Australia, a country that has, by and large, been untouched by civil and international wars, conducted planned and unplanned genocide on parts of its indigenous population. Why do we never learn history’s painful lesson? Are we doomed to repeat this over and over?
Something awfully tragic to Ponder About
Something to Ponder About 
Such accurate and sad proverbs.
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Unfortunately yes, Peggy. However, if we don’t re-tell them, people tend to forget the lesson/heed the warning! The world’s people tend to have short term memory loss about the devastations gossip, conflict, exclusivity and supremacist feelings can spark. There seems to be many who are not as optimistic about our future!
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So true about the gossip proverb! It’s something I strive not to partake in.
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Gossip tends to turn around and bite one in the behind! I try my best to keep away from it. The proverb helps to remind me of that! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate that!
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Interesting proverbs as usual. And sad. It seems we will never break free from doing the same things over and over again. Somewhere, someone said that humans are the crown of the creation. I have never believed that. Instead we are a failure, failing the Earth and our fellow inhabitants again and again. When i was young i kept thinking the world would be better off without us. The problem is, that humans will not be the only species to disappear
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Thanks so much for your insightful and pertinent comment! Yes, Anne Christine, you are unfortunately, right. Sometimes I think we are aliens on this planet, as we walk with such destructive footsteps in this world. We have the intelligence, but not the wherewithal, to really care for our planets, fellow creatures and ourselves. It is short sighted and ignorant! It is the equivalent of messing in one’s nest! If you do that, you must also take the consequences. However the effect of humans is so far reaching on this planet, their actions take everything else along with it.
I read a report recently, that said less than 10% of young people believe they will be better off, in a variety of ways, than their parents. Clearly, people despair for the future! Try as we might to make a difference in our world, we do not have the power and influence that corporations and government have to effect real positive change, yet we wear their inevitable consequences, every day, for the rest of our lives!
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I’ve learnt that I am never the exception when it comes to gossipers. If they are talking to me about others, they are most likely talking about me to others as well. So true!
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This is exactly what I think. Loose lips can talk about anyone! Other times, Some might talk about things or interactions with other people, in order to process thoughts in their own heads, unwittingly gossiping and this then, in turn, might get retold and potentially distorted by the listener and their own individual interpretation. The truth gets completely lost. Damaged reputations and hurt feelings are the collatoral damage.
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I can’t disagree with either of these. A gossip will simply gossip about anything and anyone, even those who thought themselves his/her ‘friends’. Gossips seem to crave admiration from the people they gossip to, and it makes them feel important, somehow, to have been the bearer of ‘important’ news. Imparting a secret to a gossip means it won’t be a secret for long!
The second one is very true, as all your examples illustrate, Amanda. But I think mankind keeps on repeating the same mistakes, even ‘forewarned and armed’ with the knowledge/history of what went before. I don’t know what it will take to make us take note of the outcomes of past events.
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Thanks for the comment, Millie. I do think gossips sometimes like to garner attention as you say. Perhaps they feel orher people’s lives are as much of an interest to others as they are to rhem. I wonder if they are just trying to fathom the rationales for people’s behaviour or are they getting a thrill and feeling of more importance if they have something startling to say? Perhaps they have poor self esteem?
Historical catastrophes and conflict seem to beset our lives no matter the era, Millie. Are humans inhetently flawed against peaceful co-existence?
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I’ve just subscribed to your blog after noting you do ‘proverbial Thursday’ blog posts. I too love words of wisdom, and find proverbs especially when thought about, can be inspiring, and even life changing. I sometimes put little bits on my own blog when something inspires. Two of my favourites are, DOn’t waIT, and Once begun, half done. These two sayings have become a bit of a mantra to me if I find myself procrastinating.
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Thank you Chris & Paul! Great to have you visit here and so happy to have you join in. The words of wisdom are sometimes so helpful to me in many different situations. Your DON’T waIT” is fantastic with its hidden but obviously message! I often say to my kids who are procrastinating, due to overthinking, “Just do it, don’t think too deeply, jump in and just do it!” Of course this would not be universally given advice but helpful for negative overthinking. I look forward to your input on Thursdays, which starts again next week.
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