Raincoast Proverbs

The Crab Thrower

The waves washed crabs up onto the beach where they perished in the hot sun. A black boy ran along the beach picking up the crabs, tossing them back into the water. A man said, “Why do you bother? There are millions of crabs? You can barely make a dint.” The boy replied “It matters to this crab!” as he tossed yet another.

Eternal Punishment

Those who wear hair shirts are punished in the afterlife by being told it was all for naught.

Dolphin Proverb

You have to catch your own fish.

Faith

Faith is a verb.

Pleasing

You can’t please everybody. Even God disappoints somebody. Some people pray for sunshine, some for rain.

Pressure

No one can pressure you without your permission.

Help

If you ask for help, what will everyone think? — that you are just like everyone else.

Asking

Why won’t anyone help? Perhaps you could try asking.

Promises

It is OK to remind people of their promises they have not yet kept.

Prayer

I prayed for strength. A Bowflex machine arrived by Fedex, COD.

Oneness

Everyone helps answer my prayers.

Mother Theresa

A man once said to Mother Theresa, "Mother, why do you bother? What you do is only a drop in the bucket compared to what is really needed." Mother T. replied, "Without my drop there could be no bucket."

Definition of Insanity

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
~ Rita Mae Brown (born: 1944-11-28 age: 67) in Sudden Death often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin.
Persistence is great, but you must persist with something that works.

Speaking

Before you speak, ask:

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

Before you hold silent, ask:

am I misleading?
am I withholding?
am I cowardly?

Trust

When in doubt, trust.

Mania

I have not lost my mind;
I just misplaced it.

Being Useful

Even the master craftsman’s favourite hammer spends most of its time recovering from blows or waiting on the bench.

Sharing

When somebody shares, everybody benefits.

Craftsmanship

Make something beautiful for God.
Mother Theresa

Sacrifice

When playing chess, sacrifice is not always the best move.

Hammering

When a big hammer does not work, try a smaller one.

Shouting

When shouting does not work, try whispering.

Joyce’s Observation

God’s will for me is usually at the end of my nose.
Joyce Cousins

Jimmy’s Observation

Even if you are an angel, in a bright light, you will still have a shadow side.
James Loewen

Spider’s Observation

Shared pain is reduced; shared joy is multiplied.
Spider Robinson

Perspective

To leaves, a celebration of rain is a day of rest.

To donkeys, a donkey is anything that invites him to mount.

To an earthworm, the purpose of humans is to produce dung.

To a mushroom, bullshitting is cool.

Links

quotations: concentrated wisdom. Wisdom 101 : the Cliff Notes
Things I wish I had learned when I was younger
Musings
Enlightenment
Living Love Proverbs

	You can get the freshest copy of this page from:	or possibly from your local J: drive (Java virtual drive/mindprod.com website mirror)
	http://mindprod.com/deepthoughts/proverbs.html	J:\mindprod\deepthoughts\proverbs.html
	Please email your feedback for publication, letters to the editor, errors, omissions, typos, formatting errors, ambiguities, unclear wording, broken/redirected link reports, suggestions to improve this page or comments to Roedy Green : If you want your message kept confidential, not considered for posting, please explicitly specify that.
	Canadian Mind Products
	mindprod.com IP:[65.110.21.43]
view	Your face IP:[38.107.179.212]
Feedback	You are visitor number 22,123.