Some Funny but Wonderful One Liners That Teach Great Lessons
Sometimes a line consisting of a few simple words can leave great impression on your mind. In fact, it can even have a ripple effect and give you new perspectives, new approaches, even a new way of thinking to revolutionize your whole life. Thus after collecting some choicest one liners with wonderful hidden message, I am reproducing them for your kind perusal. And if you have also a good sense of humour, these will not only make you laugh, but self-introspect and better your self-awareness too, in addition to de-stressing you.
These are the one-liners, gems of collective wisdom, which I mostly found written in local languages/vernaculars behind trucks,buses, and Rickshaws in Pakistan and are being translated in English with original wording/caption.
So read, enjoy, reflect, and and recuperate:
i) “Dum Hai Toh Cross Kar Nahi Toh Bardasht Kar”
Apparently a playful warning to drivers of vehicles coming after either to overtake the truck by showing some bravery and skill or to stay patiently in line behind and refrain from honking the horns again and again. Although this is also an advice to patiently observe the traffic laws because trucks are very large and heavy vehicles compared to passenger vehicle and if traffic laws are not rigorously followed, it can be harmful to all the vehicles near them.
However, there is an in-depth message for people to follow in life and that is: if you are stuck in a rut or an un-wanted situation, then best solution is to either have patience to bear it and keep silent until the situation changes for better or use your mind and/or caliber to deal with or solve the problem. Raising a ruckus or making a hue and cry or wailing and crying (like constantly honking an horn) will not help. Here is a short story for further explanation:
“ A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird
froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying
there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay
there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was.
The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and
happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing
and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung and promptly dug him out and ate him.”
Lesson
When you’re in deep shit, it is best to keep your mouth shut and neither make a hue and cry nor boast about your achievements.
ii) “Tussa’n Barrey Changey Ho”
Translating literally, it means “You are really an angel, sir.” This a very satirical and meaningful quote written in Seraiki language (defined by Wikipedia as an Indo-Aryan Punjabic language of the Lahnda group, spoken by 26 million people primarily in the south-western half of the province of Punjab in Pakistan, previously known as Multani, after its main dialect) that points towards people who only believe in “me me me me me-ism.” and thus have the innate urge to look perfect, to look right, to look better, to look superior than others— always. Hence, like most facebook users, they can’t help trying to look “more popish than the Pope” or like “a bowl hotter than the soup.”
These kind of People (who also seem to be in majority) mostly think that they are saint as well as smart and everyone except them is imperfect and are always in search of an opportunity to find fault with others i.e. to criticize someone or something, often after deliberately looking for mistakes or faults and then ridicule or complain about them.
However, while these people find it easy to see faults in others, they are often colorblind to their own faults. It is because, in the words of Eckhart Tolle, “There is nothing that strengthens the ego more than being right. Being right is identification with a mental position — a perspective, an opinion, a judgement, a story. For you to be right, of course, you need someone else to be wrong, so the ego loves to make wrong in order to be right.”
In nutshell, quote very simply seems to take the air out of highly inflated balloon (egoistic onlooker) before it could go up or get burst, when even the psychologists think that trying to get an overconfident/boastful person to see that he or she needs to let a little air out of their ego balloon is, at best, like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.
iii) “Fasla Rakhei’n”
In simple words, the phrase is saying “Keep Distance, Please.” Otherwise accident can occur any time causing trouble to both parties. Another, more detailed and paradoxical version of the quote is forcing the netizens to take inspiration from it and giving them a hundred reasons to save themselves from heart break.
The slogan says that “Keep distance, otherwise you can fall in love or become very intimate with someone ultimately getting your heart broken” and this warning has become so much popular that it has lead to generation of new forms of art. It is being printed on “T-shirts, on mugs, on vases etc.” and these items are being sold on good prices.
And then there are corollaries to this quote that also need some reflections. For instance, as has been reported in the “tribune.com.pk,” famed Pakistani artist Haider Ali, known for his truck art, made the one of the most talked about pieces — a banner which was displayed loudly and proudly in the room. In a clever wordplay, Ali changed the line written on trucks ‘Faslah rakhain warna pyaar hojaye ga’ (Keep distance otherwise you will fall in love) to ‘Faslah na rakhain, pyaar hone dain (Don’t keep distance and let the love happen.’
Regardless, everyday experience proves that for healthy relationships one has to set boundaries with all people, even with their near and dear ones, including parents, siblings and children, and beloved too, of course. Setting boundaries doesn’t mean that your are arrogant or introvert, but because you respect yourself and others. Thus they are healthy for everyone involved.
Moreover, setting limits with your parents and children also doesn’t mean that your are being unkind or disrespectful in the slightest.
According to psychologists, self-distancing allows you to detach yourself from emotional situations, which can help you cope with negative emotions, such as stress and anger. Self-distancing can also help you to make more rational decisions, and encourage you to use effective reasoning skills when deciding how to act. Moreover, keeping safe distance also helps avoid unnecessary conflicts.
And although, setting limits or boundaries can feel intimidating but it helps you honor your physical and emotional needs and protect your personal space. In short, they’re essential in every relationship. Not keeping boundaries may also result in mental and physical abuse even by your near and dear ones.
According to (late) Salvador Minuchin (a psychiatrist and family therapist born and raised in San Salvador, Entre Ríos, Argentina), growing up and maturing means learning to separate. And as differences are also natural, the best families or friends aren’t those who agree on everything, but those who, despite their differences, respect each other.
However, it doesn’t mean being selfish, aloof, or cruel.
iv) “Mehnat Kar, Hasad Na kar”
It is a piece of advice that says “instead of being jealous of others, do hard work and improve your circumstance too.”
This message is for those who, instead of minding their own business and focusing on their own goals, keep comparing themselves to others, a habit or attitude that ultimately makes them feel inferior and thus unsatisfied and jealous, and crazy like a nut or banana or cracker. Or like all the three at the same time if the fire of jealousy is fast as well as furious.
Psychologists are of the view that comparing ourselves to others allows them to drive our behavior. This type of comparison is between you and someone else. Sometimes it’s about something genetic, like wishing to be taller, but more often it’s about something the other person is capable of doing that we wish we could do as well.
However, feeling inadequate or empty has less to do with outer world than to with your inner world. Following quote from American comedy “Cool Runnings” explains the idea very aptly:
“A gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”
Psychologists tell us that jealousy also has the potential to fuel damaging behavior. It can compel someone to obsessively monitor another’s communication, relationships, and whereabouts; attempt to lower their self-confidence; or even behave violently. Thus instead of comparing yourself to others and then having low self-esteem and bouts of frustration and depression, it is better to set your own goals and pursue them vigorously.
v) “Dil ki Qeemat Sirf Aik Muskarhat”
This really is a very very wonderful line for those who are never happy with life and are always making a long face giving an unhappy and gloomy expression. It is about the “power of a smile” that can even win the heart of a total stranger and bored to death person who is driving the truck. In other words, it is all about the “power of the positivity.”
In the age of hyper inflation, job losses, extreme competition, and tense relations, pessimism is the the prevalent mood/attitude and thus it is hard to find a reason to smile. But undue pessimism has the potential to make an already hard life more miserable.
Here enter the “power of a smile” as according to some research reports, smile boost the levels of serotonin (a natural stress reducer in the brain) and thus elevates our mood even when it is forced (but you don’t have to move mountains but just a few muscles to smile).
And although it is still a matter of debate as to how many muscles it takes to smile or frown and whether it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, it can be said with certainty that by contracting or expanding our facial muscles in different degrees and combinations, we can produce thousands of different messages that provide cues to our overall emotional state and at the same time have a great impact on the people around us.
Here is an an excerpt from an essay “The Power of a Smile” by Pooja Chugh (Chair, CBA Well-being Subcommittee) that strongly endorses the idea of the hard working truck driver who is in dire need of a smile to ease the strains of a long arduous journey:
- One smile is all it takes to improve your mood, energy, and overall health.
- One smile is all it takes to help someone have a better day.
- One smile is all it takes to make a difference in this world.
- One smile can make a powerful impact that ripples past our immediate surroundings.
And all this without any cost or burden on your pocket.
Thus from now on, if you see someone without a smile, don’t forget to give them one of yours. It might brighten someone’s day who is struggling hard to survive.
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