Experiencing Proverbs
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We live in a delicate world where second chances are not certain. Therefore, we have to live our lives based on some infallible principles. I believe that things don’t just happen in the world we live in because the world is governed by some basic principles. These principles have been encountered by people who have come before us and they, through wisdom of life experiences, come to identify some things in life. This makes them make wise remarks on issues in life. These words by the wise ones that have lived before us are called proverbs.
Generally speaking, proverbs are there to guide our actions and serve as torchlight to our path as we live through life. Proverbs, although short in length, carries a whole lot of significance. They might be a summary of the life experience of people, a race or a particular person. The Microsoft Encarta describes proverbs as a “concise statement, in general use, expressing a shrewd perception about everyday life or a universally recognized truth.’(Encarta, 2007).
However, English poet, John Keats said that `Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced – even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it”. Personally, I think that John Keats’s statement can be nothing but the truth. This is because it is easy to say a thing because we have crammed it but that thing does not have an in-depth meaning to the person that said it. Oftentimes than not, proverbs are either used to beautify our communication or to support our arguments. This means that most times, we use proverbs because we want to add a bit of spice to what we are saying or give a basis to the point we are trying to pass across and not because we necessarily believe in the proverb that is being used.
Personally, I have heard and learnt several proverbs and which I have constantly used in my communication with people. Some I have used in passing across the exact picture that I want the other person to know, some I used primarily because I want to pass a message across and I need something to hold the point to. However, there has been no proverb that has been so real to be than that which says that ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step”. Perhaps the reason why this proverb is so real to me is because my life experience has validated this proverb.
As a child, my story was not that of the “dotted and pampered” baby. My mother had to take me to my grandma’s place as she works shifts and overtime so that I and my three other brothers could at least be people in life and not feel inferior to the other kids. My father left when I was a kid and so the person I knew as ‘parents’ was my mother. Although she was hardworking and diligent, we could only afford to rent a house in the K projects or what you can call a ‘Ghetto’.
Growing up was not as interesting as any child would have wished for. There was no dream of Disney Wonderland or a trip to Hawaii. All I ever prayed for was that I should survive till the next day and make my mother happy. Our toys were scraps that our mother bought from yard sales across the street which other children have used and are no longer useful to them again.
However, instead of making all these things get to me, I believed. Every time I looking at the mirror, I would say to myself ‘one day…soon, I would be who I want to be’. Every time I watching the television, I did not watch the programmes that are aired, I would see myself being the news one day. I knew that the first step in achieving this is to be educated but the question was how would this be? As a junior high school student, I have had to support myself through school. The first time I told my friends that I plan to further my education, they mocked and scorned me. However, instead of letting their words getting at me, it fueled my desire to succeed.
Today, although I am not where I desire yet, I am nearer. I have discovered that each step that I take lead me to my desire. Not matter how inconsequential you think the step might be, be sure that if is at the right direction, you are a step nearer to where you are going and a step farther from where you are coming from.
In conclusion, what is the use of saying something that you have not experienced? A proverb is just a sentence if we can not judge it by our experience.
