The Chinese people have the longest traditions and are one of the earliest people on this planet. They have manuscripts that date 3,500 years back. All these millennia the Chinese were respected for their knowledge about many things, but mostly about their words of wisdom. The following 10 Chinese proverbs are so powerful that they can influence your life, change the way you see things and make you a better person.
1. “One happiness scatters a thousand sorrows.”
The things that bring us sadness are more common than those who bring happiness. But happiness is a much stronger feeling than sadness and just one happy moment can help us get through thousands of sad ones.
2. “You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent them making a nest in your hair.”
Certain things in life can’t be avoided no matter how hard we try. However, that doesn’t mean that we should never let go of them. We need to learn how to let go and move on, leaving all the sadness behind us.
3. “He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes”
If you have ambition which is not backed up by conscience that will lead to your goal, you are blind and will never achieve anything. Your conscience helps you see things and everything around you. So, you can never expect to reach your destination if you are not conscious about the path you are walking.
4. “An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break. May you be open to each thread that comes into your life, the golden ones and coarse ones- and may you weave them into a brilliant and beautiful life.”
We will always meet those we are destined to meet. Some will cross our path to bring sadness and others to bring happiness. We should never deny any relationship we had, even the worst ones because they teach us lessons about wisdom making us appreciate the happy relationships more.
5. “A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.”
If you give up, it means you are either not trying hard enough or your approach was negative. So, you need to let go of the negativity and never allow it to interrupt your positive efforts, even if that negativity comes from others, not from within you.
6. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
What matters when you are walking towards your goals is not how fast you are going, its whether you are always moving. Rushing things sometimes brings unwanted results, you take your time when you need, and think about your actions. But, always remember to keep on moving, slowly and steadily.
7. “The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
Nobody achieved greatness from the first try. We don’t see all the failed efforts that successful people had to go through before reaching their goals. However, if you want to achieve something great, you need to do something every day and never get tired when you see how much there is left to do. Focus on being steady and persistent, and over time your devotion will lead you where you are headed.
8. “Everyone sees the violence of the swollen river. Few see the violence of the embankments that constrain it.”
We tend to see only the obvious things that lie on the surface without paying attention to the cause or source. However, if a person did something wrong it might have been caused by a greater cause that is not seen on the outside. Always keep your eyes and mind open.
9. “Great winds are powerless to disturb the water of a deep well.”
If you are genuinely happy with yourself, all the storms that happen around you will never affect your sense of self-acceptance.
10. “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”
You can never achieve peace unless you really know who you are. If you are unaware of yourself, you will remain anxious about all the things that might happen.
Nowadays we are become so overwhelmed by hatred and violence that it never hurts to include some wisdom in our minds. That can only help us get towards a better world, one step at a time.