"R" is for......

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

When we are very angry and seek revenge, sometimes we act suddenly while we are still angry. Most of the time, the revenge would not work because we were clumsy and haven't thought of a plan. Or, we were rushed and so we were careless.

That's where this proverb comes in. 
What it means is, "Take your time and do not act when you are angry. Allow yourself time to cool off so that you can think. If you are not fueled by blind anger, you will be able to think better and plan better. And then, my naughty friends.....your revenge may work."

And so, if you feel like serving up a big dish of Revenge....allow time for cooling off. Because, revenge is much better when cold.

(P.S. Revenge is bad, mmmm'kay! Be good boys and girls!)

"Q".............

I couldn’t think of a proverb that starts with “Q”, and so I will give a quote instead:

“Quo fata trahunt, retrahuntque sequamur...”—Virgil (from Aenid)

This is Latin for “Wherever the fates lead us, let us follow.”

Many people believe that we are here in this life for a purpose, and that our lives have been predestined.  

On such deep subjects, I (like most) have my own opinions. But, I think what my views sum up to is that….

I compare life to traveling down a road that eventually ends with our death. What scenery we see along the way, the detours we take, the directions we choose to go when we come to a crossroads….all that is up to us, or left to chance.

Wherever the road (fate!) leads us, we should follow.

Anyhow, I am quite fond of this quote.^^ ♥

"P" is for..............

“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

Imagine if you lived in a glass house. It wouldn’t be very wise to go outside and throw stones at someone, would it? They would then throw stones back at you, and as a result, your house would break and crash to the ground.

In this proverb, “stones” is likely referring to “harsh words” or “untruths”. It is unwise to spread rumors or try and ruin the reputation of one person if you have bad things of your own that you do not want anyone to find out about.

Why tell everyone that you neighbor is having an affair with someone other than his wife, if you are secretly having an affair of your own?

Why claim that your friend talks about people behind their back, if you are doing it yourself?

Why gossip about anyone’s behavior if you are doing similar things yourself, secretly? Like a stone hitting a glass house, your reputation will crumble and crash in the end for being such a hypocrite.

That’s what this proverb means to me.^^

"O" is for................

“Out 

              

                 “Out of small acorns grow mighty oaks.”

 This proverb makes me think of all of the people, who were told that they were too   small to do something, or they weren’t important or rich enough to do something…or that they’ll never amount to anything because they are “nobody”.

                     It’s nonsense.

 Some of our best athletes, great minds, leaders, scientists, etc., were people who    were told similar things as they worked towards their dreams, or dreamed of their futures as children. But, they grew into great people in the end.

This proverb suggests that no matter how small, or how unimportant, you (or others) think you are, you have the potential to become someone great. 

"N" is for............

“Never let the right hand know what the left is doing.”

This is a proverb with a Christian origin. It is referring to charity.

Maybe you know someone like this:

A woman gives money or goods frequently to charity, but she uses every opportunity to mention to others that she does so. She will even say what she donated or how much money specifically. It makes people wonder, “Is she really charitable, or is she doing it for attention from others?”

I call people like this “those who pat their own backs”. It can be anyone who does anything for others, and then brags about it for the sole purpose of making themselves look better.

This proverb suggests that we should be charitable for the purpose of ….being charitable.^^ We shouldn’t do it to receive praises from others, or for self-satisfaction.  We should do these types of things without mention.

Anyhow, that’s what this proverb means to me.

"M" is for...................

"Marry in haste, repent at lesiure."

This proverb is one that I agree with completely.

Imagine a girl who is proposed to by guy that she is not sure about. She always feels that he is not right for her. But, she makes a rash decision to accept the proposal. And so, she marries him.

This is an example of "marrying in haste".

"Marry in haste" means to accept a marriage:
*that you have not thought about completely, or...
*you are not sure the other person is right for you, or....
*you do not know each other very well, or....
*you have not known each other for very long
*etc.

"Repent at lesiure" is like saying that after marrying in such haste you will regret your decision for the duration of the marriage.

Such marriages usually have one of two outcomes:
*divorce, or
*a miserable life if you do not divorce

Anyway, this is what this proverb means to me. It is saying to me that we should take the time to completely know the person we would vow to spend our lives with, and only marry when we are completely sure about our decision to.

"L" is for..................

“Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.”

When I hear this proverb, I think of instances where a person (let’s say they are an honor roll student) becomes friends with people who are troublemakers. Usually, the honor student would be “guilty by association” (which means that because he/she is friends with people who cause trouble, others would assume he/she is a troublemaker as well). In a lot of cases, the honor student would start to adopt characteristics of the troublemakers. Maybe the troublemakers involved the student in a situation that was dangerous or illegal and they face danger or jail-time.

Anyway, we see this often with normally “good” kids getting involved in gangs and then ruining their lives.

And so, to me this proverb means that:

You will become like the company you keep.

"K" is for................

“Kindness will never be wasted in any way.”

If we are kind to someone, there is a chance that the person will be kind in turn. Maybe only to us, but there is a chance that this person will also start being kind to others.

But, what if the person we shared kindness with didn’t appreciate it? What if they turned their backs on it? What if they are mean? I suppose it would feel like a waste.

But, I’m not so sure.

If we keep practicing kindness, over time, we evolve into “kind people”.

Of course there are exceptions: Kindness given for selfish reasons does not make a kind person.

But, to me, this proverb speaks a truth.

Even if kindness bestowed on others is not appreciated or is rejected, there is no waste. With every ounce of kindness that we share, we become kinder people. And so, it wasn’t wasted after all, because it has made us better people.

"J" is for..............

"Jack of all trades, master of none."

This proverb makes me think of myself sometimes.
I like to create various arts, but I am not exceptional in any.
I am decent at various music, but I am not excellent with any.
I studied various sciences, but I am not fully educated in any.

And it goes on.............

This is the trouble of having many talents or too many interests. Life does not give us enough time to fully excel in many things at once. We can only pick one or two things and dedicate our time to those in order to master them. And, if someone is like me.....they gain a new interest, learn it for a while, and then become bored with it because a newer, better interest has come along to take it's place.

Soon enough, those like me know how to do (or have learned) many different things, but none fully.

And so this is what this proverb means to me:

Someone who is competent in many skills, but not outstanding in any particular one.

"I" is for...............

"If the shoe fits, wear it."

There are times when we lose a sense of self. I just mean that....sometimes, it takes other people to point out the things we are doing wrong in life (or our flaws) in order for us to see them.  But, maybe we don't want to accept those things as truths. "It can't be me that they are talking about!", we may feel.

With this proverb, I imagine someone saying to me, "April. See this shoe? It is yours. Take it."
I may say to this person, "But, it can't be my shoe. It doesn't complement me. It is rather ugly."
They will try to assure me that this ugly shoe is mine. Others may come and assure me that this shoe is mine.
And so....I try it on. It's a perfect fit!
"How can this be?", I may say to myself. "When did something of mine become so ugly?"
But, it fits. Everyone assured me that it would, and it really fits. And so, I must accept what they are saying as truth, and wear the shoe.

To me, this proverb means that:

We should accept accurate descriptions of ourselves, even if they are not flattering.

In my thoughts above, I didn't want to accept that something so ugly could be mine even though others assured me it was. But in the end, because it fit me, I had to accept it. I had to wear it.
Of course, I am speaking of our character, and how we portray ourselves to others. And of accepting other people's opinions about our characters.

No one wants to hear about their bad traits, or if they are portraying themselves badly to others. But, if others are saying the same things....if they are all pointing it out....it should be accepted, no matter how bad it is. If it fits....wear it. Accept it.

Because only then can you make a change.