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What phrases of wisdom have really stuck with you? (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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I have 3 but would LOVE to hear more....

You can always have more but you can't have less

This one's from my dad and it really stuck with me. You can, and really should, apply this to any intoxicant.

On the pitch is off the streets

This is about getting restless kids, or kids who might be in a bad situation, into sports.

The axe forgets but the tree remembers

Translation on this one: People who cause hurt are less likely to remember than those it affected.

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[–] 64 points 5 days ago* (18 children)

"You do not treat a man like a gentleman because he is. You treat a man like a gentleman because you are."

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  • [–] 19 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (16 children)

    Feel like this clashes with "respect is earned, not demanded" which I feel more strongly

    Edit: That said, I do also believe that people should be treated with respect by default.

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  • [–] 15 points 5 days ago (10 children)

    Many (maybe even most?) adages have an opposite.

    "Reach for the stars", but "sky's the limit".

    "Knowledge is power," but "ignorance is bliss."

    "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," but "out of sight, out of mind."

    "Better safe than sorry," but "nothing ventured, nothing gained."

    "The pen is mightier than the sword," but "actions speak louder than words."

    "Great minds think alike," but "fools seldom differ."

    "Too many cooks spoil the broth," but "many hands make light work."

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    Most of those don't mean opposite things, though. They aren't describing incompatible concepts. Even, "great minds think alike" and, "fools seldom differ" are more comments about different contexts than opposite meaning.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    Right, and that's kinda my point. I said that there are opposites, not that they don't have any value at all. Context is key.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago (2 children)

    They are literally, technically, definitionally not opposites if they carry unrelated meanings.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago

    Not really.

    Take the first one. Someone can work hard to improve themselves, but have a realistic idea of how far they can go. Maybe I'll take a chance and open a hot dog stand of my own; I shouldn't expect to outdo Burger King or KFC.

    You can take risks safely. A scuba diver can explore a cave with a trained buddy and proper equipment, or just swim in alone.

    All the people who fought in the Tojan War are long dead, but Homer's words still live on.

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  • [–] 0 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    Sky is the limit means nothing is impossible, so they say pretty much the same thing about aiming high.

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  • [–] 0 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    That one was a bit tongue in cheek, yeah.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago

    Yeah, it's funny like when people say "Jumbo shrimp is an oxymoron." Like, ha ha, yeah, shrimp can also mean small person, but the animals called shrimp come in different sizes, so we need size words if we want to classify them. So it's not in fact a contradiction, but it's a really funny joke. Same thing here.

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  • [–] 12 points 5 days ago

    I think that there's a fundamental disconnect between respect for somebody, and how you treat them. How you treat them reveals everything about you, and not much about them. For example, ICE goons don't respect the immigrants that they see as breaking the law. But their, unhinged, gleeful violence comes from within their own disordered brains. We can't tell anything at all about the people ICE targets by the fact that agents abuse them, but we can be 100% sure that the agents are psychopathic shitheels. "Respect" depends on your point of view, while behavior is tangible.

    Put another way, nobody can make you behave a certain way, and if somebody doesn't earn your respect, set a boundary and remove them from your life. Don't pretend that others force you to behave a certain way.

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