If you're anything like me, you probably need a little bit of wisdom and inspiration to get you through each day. Well lately, i've been able to get my daily dose of both from Lifelines: The Black Book of Proverbs. A recent press release about the book had this to say:
Authors Askhari and Yvonne share a passion for proverbs. Short, snappy sayings surround their lives. During their upbringings, they both learned, “proverbs are the daughters of experience” (Sierra Leone). Thus, LIFELINES draws inspiration from the authors’ experience and proverb gathering during their wide travels and particularly in their home communities on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Readers experiencing new births, weddings, career changes, death, and other rites of passage will find truth in the saying, “When the occasion arises, there is a proverb to suit it” (Rwanda). Indeed, LIFELINES offers wisdom for every stage of our lives.
And Pearl Cleage, author of What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, says
This little book contains the wisdom of the ages and is guaranteed to produce a smile of appreciation at the sheer good sense of the proverbs you will find inside. From advice you wish your mother had given you to things you probably suspected but had never put into words, Lifelines is a book to be read, to be absorbed, and to be treasured.
The book even features a Foreword by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu! I wonder if i can pull that off for my book...
Anyway, i may not be able to give away free cars to an entire studio audience like Oprah, but i can at least give away a free book! So here's the deal:
Leave a comment at the bottom of this post sharing the funniest or best proverb you have ever heard. Or, share a proverb that influences your life. If possible, identify the country of origin, but if all you know is you got it from grandma, then say that. If you're getting this by e-mail, then you can e-mail me your proverb.
Use a valid e-mail address so I can reach you if you’re the winner. I’ll pick a winner at random from the entries that follow my rules. The deadline to enter is Friday, November 20, 2009, and i'll announce the winner on this site on December 4, 2009. This will make a perfect holiday present!
By the way, if you're on facebook, you can become a fan of Daily Lifelines.
I'm Cliff, and on that "note", i'm outta here!
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ReplyDeletePretty is as pretty does.
ReplyDeleteNannie
The meaning is "pretty" obvious--it doesn't matter how you look, it's what you do that makes you beautiful.
The one who tells the stories rules the world.
ReplyDelete--Hopi tribe
The African Proverb I liked most was the one that said: "When the vines take over your house, it's time to rebuild." I told it to a friend of mine whose house is in danger of being over-run by vines and next time I looked he had chopped down the vegetation and started refurbishing. He said 'If them say so in Africa, I better listen."
ReplyDeleteIt think that the best one I've ever heard is a Jamaican Proverb that says,
ReplyDelete"If yu sorry fi magga dawg, him tun run an bite yu"
It mean that you should never give help that not requested of you because the person you may choose to help may harm you.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteEvery pot has to sit on its own bottom.
American African
Nana
November 9, 2009
"Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight"
ReplyDeletemeaning: Don't get yourself involved in other's affairs, you could get in trouble.
Jamaican
Colette Garrick
November 9, 2009