I was just thinking how certain phrases people use are rather strange in some ways. Here are some examples:
1- When people describe something as being a "drop in the ocean" they typically are implying that whatever you're doing to solve a problem isn't going to do a whole lot of good. I don't quite understand this logic-without drops of water there would be no ocean-every little bit you do to reach a goal counts, however small the step might be.
2: If great minds think alike, then how is it that many experts seem to spend an inordinate amount of time arguing?
3: You can't teach an old dog new tricks? Whoever came up with that phrase must not have liked dogs much. The idea is completely false in my humble opinion. My family had an old dog (that we loved and who I still miss very much) that must have been extraordinary because we taught him all sorts of new stuff even when he was old.
One phrase I do like very much is: A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down! Although I realize this doesn't apply to all medication I still think a little sweetness never goes amiss. Thus, if you have to go through something hard and/or take some nasty medicine or other today I hope this blog post helps things go down a little more easily!
I agree with you - but maybe the first one is saying that sometimes it is discouraging to only add one drop to the ocean, because you don't notice a difference. But, like you point out, it is very important because there would be no ocean without any drops.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of one of my favorite stories (however idealistic) about the boy and the old man and the starfish. You probably know it...
there was a little boy walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed to shore and were drying out. The little boy was throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one at a time. An old man came up to him and said, "What are you doing, don't you know you can't save them all?" "I know," the little boy said and picked another starfish up and threw it back into the ocean and said, "but I saved THAT one."