In Africa, when an old man dies, it's a library burning.
Interpretation
The loss of an elderly person represents the disappearance of valuable knowledge and wisdom.
This quote by Amadou Hampate Ba emphasizes the profound impact that the death of an elder has on a community, as they carry with them a wealth of experiences, stories, and traditions. In many cultures, especially in Africa, elders are seen as repositories of wisdom and their passing signifies not just the loss of a loved one, but the loss of history, teachings, and cultural knowledge that can never be fully replaced.
In practice
During a remembrance ceremony, we quoted this to reflect on the wisdom we've lost with the passing of our grandmother.
Or about how when you're a child, to stop you from following the crowd you're assaulted with the line "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?" but when you're an adult and to be different is suddenly a crime, people seem to be saying, "Hey. Everyone else is jumping off a bridge. Why aren't you?
Ideas are like wandering sons. They show up when you least expect them.
If one doesn't talk about a thing, it has never happened. It is simply expression that gives reality to things.
I believe when I am in the mood that all nature is full of people whom we cannot see, and that some of these are ugly or grotesque, and some wicked or foolish, but very many beautiful beyond any one we have ever seen, and that these are not far away... and the simple of all times and the wise men of ancient times have seen them and even spoken to them.
There either is or is not, that’s the way things are. The colour of the day. The way it felt to be a child. The saltwater on your sunburnt legs. Sometimes the water is yellow, sometimes it’s red. But what colour it may be in memory, depends on the day. I’m not going to tell you the story the way it happened. I’m going to tell it the way I remember it.
For us humans, everything is permanent - until it changes, as we are immortal until we die
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