Monday, November 28, 2005

Repost - Proverbs

I have added to my original Proverbs post from time to time, so I decided to repost it.

On a recent trip to the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago I noticed that it seemed to be an ancient custom for fathers to write down proverbs for their sons. I thought this was pretty cool, so even though I am a single mother, I decided I would start to do the same for my sons. What follows is the beginning of my list. I hope to have more and will add them as they come to me.

1. The words that you speak about another person reveal more about what is in your own heart than it ever will about them.

2. Arrogance is the hubris of the deeply insecure.

3. Confidence is knowing what you have. Arrogance is acting like you have more of it than anyone else. Making others feel that way is obnoxious.

4. Anger doesn't need a reason, just a target.

5. In general, people don't decide they like or dislike you based on how they feel about you, but rather how they feel about themselves when they are around you. (this is not something that is always under your control)

6. If you do what you need to do when you need to do it, eventually you will be able to do what you want to do when you want to do it.

7. Empathy is not an abstract concept. You should have it, and people should feel that you have it.

8. Life is like a baseball game. There are those who step up to the plate and swing at the ball, and there are those who sit in the dugout and watch others play the game.

9. Look where you are going. Think like you are already there.

10. Stay away from people who consistently badmouth others. They have a way of separating you from the people you need the most.

11. Prayer saves time. Tithing saves money.

12. Human communication is an inexact science at best. Just because you heard what someone said, don't believe you necessarily heard what they meant.

13. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) If we stay focused on things as they are and have been, it is unlikely that we will ever see them become as they can and should be.

14. One of the most revolutionary things you can do is to tell the truth, especially when it isn't easy and it isn't welcome.

15. The people who say the most aren't always the people who have the most to say.

16. Anyone who thinks they are incapable of being deceived already is.

17. Remember, the stone you throw today might just come crashing through your own window tomorrow.

18. Never allow your personal relationships to blind you to the screaming obvious and inhibit your ability to make sound decisions.

11 comments:

Madcap said...

My list would start with "Wake up! Be aware! Notice what's happening around you!"

It's an interesting idea.

Dr. Mike Kear said...

Great Proverbs, Ange!

MGA said...

Your boys are in good hands.

Constantine said...

What a marvelous idea! I'm going to start doing this for my girls. Maybe it could be part of an "open letter" that they will get from me at some future point in life? So, in the tradition that you observed when do the sons get this coveted "list"? Also, are the proverbs you've collected thus far ones that you’ve come across or words of your own wisdom?

voixd'ange said...

They are my own life lessons.

voixd'ange said...

Also, I'm not sure when the son's got the list. And btw, thanks everyone!

Constantine said...

MCM,
Your inaugural proverb sure would resonate with Buechner. Good!

Madcap said...

Just finished "The Final Beast" yesterday...

Leslee said...

I've had to learn most of these lessons the hard way. Perhaps writing them down will be benificial not only for the children, but for ourselves as well. Thanks!

Cindy said...

I made a book for my kids a few years ago when they were teenagers, full of practical things that I may not have told them about life.

I found my son's at the bottom of his junk drawer and I don't know where my daughter's ended up but I know that someday they will look back to them and realize that there's a lot of wisdom in them.

voixd'ange said...

One of my favorite Proverbs at the Oriental Institute was, "Don't buy an ass that brays too much." Made me think . . .