I’m fascinated by quotes – are they only fascinating because famous people have said them? That could be something for another discussion or voice your opinion in the comments box below. Whatever, some things resonate with me at the point when I first come across them, then I feel the need to share in case it hits the same way with someone else. A single quote can trigger a whole coaching or counselling session sometimes and open us up in interesting ways.
When I use a quote I like to check the source and usually end up going down this whole rabbit hole of seeing the context in which it was originally used, but the expression stands on its own, is thought provoking and the reader can apply their own meaning. That’s what interests me. This one is usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but a quick search result says the words haven’t been found in Lincoln’s printed works so when you see the quote attributed to him, it’s not correct! So I learned a new word today – apocryphal. The original source cannot be confirmed. I kind of like that too, again, the reader can make his own meaning in his life.
I’m considering for myself why the correct source is so important to me in the first place? I know a lot of people are like me and like to know that, but we will all have different reasons. I’m also loving the fact that I can fact check very quickly; as a child, learning usually involved a trip to the library, which I loved back then (no need to do that for a quick check now, of course, we love online) but if not that if something was printed it was just true!
That accounts for a lot of the problems with online information today, social media in particular, for me… But that’s another topic for another day and anyway the upsides there outweigh the downsides.
Jaci
February 2021