People love to gripe. Complaining is a great way to blow off steam, though most of the time it doesn't really improve a situation. We all know that, but we still can't help but find fault, loud and long, with things (and other individuals) whom we don't like. It's just so much fun to nag and criticize!

Fish, in contrast, are extraordinarily good at enduring: moving on, ignoring past problems, and permitting bygones to become truly gone. They're natural masters of the "let it flow" riverine philosophy.

This suggests a new proverb:

 //     **To carp is human;**//
 //     **To bear, piscine.//**

(This attempt to play upon Alexander Pope's "To err is human; to forgive, divine" comes close, but doesn't quite "close the loop" ... it would be nicer if there were some other animal-word(s) that could serve to pun on the theme of emotions, and that involved fish, ursines, etc.; and on a slightly more serious note see also ScathingRemarks (5 Jul 1999), ... )

TopicHumor - TopicLanguage - 2004-03-24

(correlates: Help, OnDecouplage, PointCounterpoint, ...)