In a recent post, I quoted something my mother used to say, "You may not be able to keep the birds from flying overhead, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair."
I thought it was pretty self-explanatory, but reader Emma Springfield said in a comment that my mother's quote left her with a big question mark.
So I'm going to give it the old college try and attmpt to explain what I think Mama meant.
I read a long time ago in a writing-industry magazine called Communication: The Transfer Of Meaning that the meaning of something is not determined by what the speaker or writer thinks is being transmitted but by how the hearer or reader interprets what is received. To the extent that noise can interfere or distraction can occur or a lack of understanding can exist, the message one intended to convey (meaning) may be altered. Somewhere else I read that every written sentence should have a single meaning, clearly understood at the first reading.
Which brings us back to Mama's quote about birds flying overhead and nests in one's hair.
That quote failed the test where Emma was concerned, and the more I thought about Mama's quote the more meanings I found. Here are several possibilities to choose from:
A. Stay alert at all times to avoid unwanted consequences.
B. Comb your hair every day.
C. You can't control others, but you can control yourself.
D. Have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
E. Troubles may come, but don't let them take up permanent residence.
F. Always wear a hat.
What do you think? Is one of the preceding possibilities right? More than one? None? If none, what would your best answer look like?
I would lean towards E.
ReplyDeleteI understood what your Mother meant, or at least my interpretation of it. I think your C. and D. cover it. Basically, I take it to mean there are many things we can't control but some that we can, so we shouldn't waste our time trying to change what we can't change.
ReplyDeleteI think she meant that it's OK to dress like a scarecrow.
ReplyDeleteThey all have some value and besides I think it's rather humorous so it attracts my attention.
ReplyDeleteI think all of your possibilities are good advice.
ReplyDeleteC and E seem to make sense in the context of your mother's quote. Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a quote from Martin Luther about dealing with temptation.
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to everyone who participated. The last commenter, Don Underwood, is a former pastor of ours (Hi, Don!) and I figured he knew what he was talking about. I did an online search and found this quotation attributed to Martin Luther:
ReplyDelete"Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair."
Of course, if he said it, he said it in German. My mother, whose family were German Jews, would probably have been surprised to know she was quoting Martin Luther.