![]() The more we change, the “direction” of that change will become more obvious - and if we leave that direction as it is, the more it will stay the same. So, the state that changes is “who we are,” and the tendency that stays the same is “what we repeatedly do.” Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Will Durant ( not Aristotle) would put it like this: Wait, is this just a cumbersome way of saying “habit”? And when someone has many friends, the more likely he is to develop his social capabilities. The same thing applies to “weight” and “diet,” or “friends” and “social skills.” Once someone has successfully reached an ideal weight, the more likely he is to be mindful of what he eats. The more knowledge someone has, the more likely he is to enjoy learning further building upon his knowledge and fueling his thirst for learning. Here, state is “what changes,” and tendency is “what stays the same.”įor example, “amount of amassed knowledge” is a state, and “affinity to learning” is a tendency. Isn’t it more accurate to say “similar” compared to “same,” though? Well, generally speaking, yes - but I think Karr is describing another phenomenon in particular.įor lack of better words, I’m going to use “state” and “tendency” to explain my interpretation of this. Like many other paradoxical expressions, this one might sound annoying - but it’s equally true. (“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”) “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” To bring this matter of history and change in a full circle, perhaps it’s appropriate to quote French novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” I imagine, centuries before The Alchemist was ever written, that lesson is what Greek philosopher Heraclitus was thinking of when he said: ![]() The treasure has always been yours, you just can’t see it before- and the journey teaches you how. Not because you’ll find the treasure on that journey, but because you need to find yourself first. You should’ve just stayed at home instead of wasting all those time and energy.īut here’s the thing: Maybe you do need to go on that journey. ![]() Then you think to yourself: “What was all that journey for?” It all feels useless. After a long time, you didn’t see that treasure anywhere, so you went home with empty hands.īut then, after you came back, you find that treasure in your home - the very place you’ve started your journey from. You embark on a journey to faraway lands, hoping to find that treasure. Instead of Santiago, let’s make you the protagonist. If you haven’t read it yet, scroll with caution, I’m about to spoil the plot for you. When taken into the context of human growth, we can see a profound example in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. These things may share a common appearance, but they have a different essence. Let’s take a look at another Indonesian saying: “Serupa tapi tak sama.” This quote is not attributed to anyone, it’s simply a vernacular expression which means “similar but not the same.”Īs the words suggest, while many things can look identical from the outside, they’re not always the same thing. So, maybe you won’t stay the same person, after all. You’re always the same person at heart, but as days go by, you’re also growing constantly. Therefore, we should look into the past to solve the problems of the present. The thing is, usually, this “root” only reveals itself in retrospect. This behavior is then repeated as you grow up, placing you in the same situations, which you always face with the same reactions - therefore perpetuating the same problems.Īs it's commonly understood, these kinds of complications can only be alleviated when we administer the cure at its root. Maybe one thing happens when you were a little kid, and that thing incites a particular behavior pattern in your personality. More often than not, a person’s current problem is actually a reenactment of some event that happens before in his or her past.įor instance, the problems of a human adult are usually the long-term effect of childhood trauma. I think he intends this expression to be used in a national context, but it’s surely applicable to smaller scopes of life, too, including matters at the individual level. Why shouldn’t we leave history? Because that’s where we’ll find the clues to how we can solve our current problems, Soekarno argues. Sometimes the quote is abbreviated as “Jas Merah,” which is a wordplay that literally translates to “Red Suit,” but the sentence’s actual meaning is “Never leave history.” “ Jangan sekali-sekali meninggalkan seja rah.” It’s uttered by Soekarno, the country’s national hero, and first president: ![]() While I was writing this, an Indonesian saying came to mind.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |