“No dices que tu no vasa tomar el agua del rio porque de vasa a tomar el agua del mismo rio.”

“Don’t say that you won’t drink the water from the river because you will drink the water from the same river.”

“Never say never.”

My friend Derek told me this Mexican proverb.  The first line is the proverb in Spanish and below it is the direct English translation.  The rough translation of the proverb is the common expression “Never say never”.   He said that his mother used to tell him this proverb and still does to this day.  He said she used to tell him this proverb whenever he would say that he didn’t want to do something and would never do it.  Derek says that his mother tells him other Spanish proverbs but this is the only one he could remember at the time.  He said he understands the proverb now that he is older compared to when he was a young kid and his mom used to tell him the proverb.

According to Derek the proverb means that you don’t know what is going to happen in the future and you shouldn’t assume things or make drastic proclamations, such as saying never.    He says that the future is filled with uncertainty but the proverb is trying to tell people to embrace it and let it happen rather than trying to define during the present what the future will be.  Proverbs from various culture are interesting to look at because they tend to reveal much about a particular culture’s perspective and beliefs.