A Drowning Man Will Clutch At a Straw

Desperate man will do anything to come out of a hopeless situation. A man closeted in a dark, closed room tries to peep at the outer world through any hole he could locate in the door or in the wall. It gives him some hope and consolation though he would instantly recognise the futility of his actions. In a hopeless situation, man tries to remember some glorious moments in his past life when h had successfully dealt with adverse encounters. then he pins his attention on that moment of triumph. Such an exercise gives him temporary relief and may yet give him courage to face the hazards ahead. Essentially man lives by hope. It is hope that drives man to heroic actions and perilious adventures. There are cases when persons with terminal illness have been cured by an encouraging word from a doctor or a seer. When all chances are lost, the last chance serves as a powerful anchor for a fresh constructive start. Whether such an effort would bear fruit or not is immaterial. It gives him some hope.

A Burnt Child Dreads the Fire

Burns from fire is common. Usually mature persons are very careful in handling fire. But Children usually do not realise that fire can produce a burning sensation and recklessly play with it. They find it very attractive until it injures them. Once they get burnt, they may realise that it is dangerous to play. In our daily life we may face difficulties. We may learn from our mistakes. Once we know what is expected from mistakes, we will try to avoid repetition. In other words we are like children, we learn from our mistakes. We may take extra caution in future. A wise man never repeats the same mistakes twice. However as saying goes, it is always best to avoid faults and mistakes than to commit them again and learn in due course.

A Dog is a Man's Best Friend

A dog stands by its master in prosperity and poverty, in health and sickness, in happiness and sorrow. He will sleep on the cold surface, where the wintry winds blow, and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. A dog always remains with his master even if everybody deserts him. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, a dog is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the sky. It is prudent to term Dog as Man’s best friend

A Bird in Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush

A bird which one has got in the hand is always more valuable than two or three birds which one aims to get but are in the bush. The reason is that the birds in the bush are away from the person and the possibility of getting them is doubtful. The birds in the bush can always fly away and leave the person with nothing, while the one in his hand cannot escape. The one in the hand can be useful to him. So if the person lets the bird in his hand go free and tries to catch those in the bush, they may also fly away leaving him a complete loser. It is therefore wise on the part of the person to be satisfied with the bird he has got and not to go off looking for those that flew away. It is always wise to utilize whatever opportunity is at hand than to look forward to some other opportunity that may come in future with more advantages. It is best to be satisfied with whatever chance is there and make the most out of it than wait for a better one which may never come. This proverb means that it is better to be in possession of even so small thing than to have hopes or expectations based on something that is bigger or of greater value but is far away and difficult to get. This applies to people also. Those who are near to us and willing to help are more valuable friends than those who are away. Those who are away might not be willing to help at all. So it is foolish to reject whatever help is at hand. Our neighbors who are poor sometimes prove to be more helpful to us than our rich relatives who are far away. The wise man always relies on the present instead of laying his hopes in future.

A Bad Workman Always Blames His Tools

People can generally be classified into two groups. Those who have talents and those who have not. A really talented person succeeds in all work assigned to him. He makes use of his abilities properly and achieves good results. He is confident of doing his work. He uses his tools in the right way, even if they are not excellent. At the same time, if a badly talented person even if given excellent tools, fails to achieve good results. His talents are limited. He tries to find lame excuses for his failure to achieve good results. He blames his tools for the bad work he has done. He does not want to admit that he is a bad workman. He deliberately forgets the fact that his talents are limited. This is true in life also. Even if good opportunities are provided for the less talented person, he fails to exploit such chances and succeed in life. But if talented person is given the right opportunity, he makes use of it to the full, thereby achieves good results in life. While the former blames the opportunities and people around him for his failure, the latter without complaint utilizes them and succeeds in life.

All Work and No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy

Hard and Industrious work is necessary to achieve our goals in life. But concentration on work alone with no recreation tends to make a person dull and unsociable. The mind’s constitution is such that it can be made to work for a long time. But at the same time, proper relaxation is absolutely necessary for keeping it from getting overtaxed. An overtaxed mind loses all social spirit making the personality dull. Often children are made to study their lessons continuously so as to get good results in examinations. But this rather tends to make a child just a bookworm with no special abilities. Furthermore, a relaxed mind is a rejuvenated one. It retrieves all its capacities for absorption of knowledge after proper recreation. Recreation revitalizes the mind’s inborn abilities. That is why stress is laid on extracurricular activities in school routines. A balanced scheme of work and recreation is the proper way to keep the mind in trim shape. This is especially very important in the case of children because it is the age when the personality of the child is being moulded. In short, work with no recreation will make jack a dull boy. On the other hand a combination of work with recreation will make him a properly balanced person.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Outward appearance can be greatly misleading. Gold is a very valuable metal. It has an attractive glittering appearance too. But it does not mean that everything which glitters like gold should be precious. There are utterly valueless things that look like gold, and taking them on their face value is unwise. On the contrary, some of the dull looking things possess immense value. Their appearance is in no way proportionate to the great value they have. This is true of human beings also. A person may be good looking having an attractive character. But he may not possess any real ability or talent. He can even turn out to be unscrupulous too. A man must be judged on the basis of his abilities and not on his external appearance. Many of the truly good and great man are humble. Goodness and perfection do not go with gaudiness. Like shining glass pieces which dazzle and glitter like diamonds, the appearance of men can be greatly misleading. Therefore estimation and analysis of people on the basis of mere appearance is an unwise approach according to this proverb.

All Lay Load On A Willing Horse

In the days when horses were much used for carrying burdens on their backs, the animals that gave the least trouble were given more work to do than those which were stubborn or intractable. Today, a ‘willing horse’ is a person who is so good-natured and helpful that everyone takes advantage of him. Horses are often used for carrying heavy loads. Some of them may be stubborn. They loathe heavy loads and consequently show a flaming temper. But some others are very docile and co-operative. They bear whatever burden is put on them ungrudgingly. This co-operation and calmness are often taken as sign of vulnerability and is exploited by the owners. They put heavy burdens on those docile horses while ignoring the stubborn ones. It is the same in the case of human beings also. In all fields of work, the co-operative and uncomplaining man is often chosen to do the hardest work while the lazy people shirk off the responsibility. It is a strange phenomenon that uncomplaining and helpful mentality is so indecently exploited beyond limits. Unfortunately most of such people are found to be reluctant to refuse flatly the disproportionate work allotted to them. They keep silent and this silence is gladly exploited by his lazy fellow workers and employers. This proverb is very true for that kind of people.

All Is Well That Ends Well

Often people embark on enterprises which demand great patience and attention. They are begun with great enthusiasm and tend to pose good scope in the long run. But mistakes can be committed in the process of making them a success. And these mistakes in turn substantially dampen the optimism of the entrepreneurs. This factor can be highly harmful and damaging to the well started enterprises. It should be kept in mind that mistakes and faults are natural. Without mistakes, correction and recognition of the weak spots are impossible. Recognition of weak spots are absolutely necessary for the perfection of the enterprises. A wise entrepreneur learns from his mistakes and strives to achieve perfection. The outcome of the project is what counts. If the project turns out to be a success, the past mistakes can be forgotten. Every mistake is a pointer to perfection. The great English poet and dramatist Shakespeare adopted the above proverb for one of his famous comedies of the name All's Well That Ends Well. Its is one of the best plays of Shakespeare. Therefore, this proverb's significance is all the more prominent.

All Is Fish That Comes To the Nest / All Is Grist That Comes To the Mill

There is absolutely nothing in life that can be counted out as completely useless. A wise man makes use of all opportunities that come to him. To him, there is nothing that cannot be utilized in his endeavors for success. A fisherman makes money out of all fish that gets entangled in his net. So is a miller who makes use of all grain that come to him. For them, there is nothing meager, or trifling. So should a man be who wants to achieve his goals in life. Every opportunity that life offers is invaluable. Real opportunities can be highly deceiving. On the face, they might look dull and without scope. But a truly ambitious person can turn them out into golden ones in the long run. Life on the whole is never worthless or useless. The only thing that prevents it from yielding value is our own irresponsibility and laziness. In a way, all of us are millers and fisherman in life. To us no fish is useless and no grain devoid of value.

Action Speaks Louder Than Words

In today’s world, practical aspects of life weigh more than the theoretical. Life is full of hazards and to overcome the obstacles of life, a person must strive to be practical and stop wasting precious time on unnecessary preaching. In other words, he must be a man of action in order to succeed in life. Many great personalities of history have put in practice what their conscience told them to do and have acted in accordance to their beliefs. They had not contemplated too much on how to reach their set goals. Precious time must be converted into moments of action for real success in life. Idle talk can lead nowhere. On the contrary, it should be moulded on the firm basis of action. It must be secondary to the practical aspects of life. In our dynamic world success and happiness depend on action, not on theory or mere words.