(= men moet werken met de middelen die men heeft)
Literal Translation: “Rowing with the oars you have got.” Meaning: “Making do with the means available to you.”
Oars in the English Proverb ‘Everyone must row with the oars he has’ include his attitude, time, his access to knowledge, his physical abilities, his ability to engage others to get help him row that boat etc.
We must examine the oars more closely, be open to their potential and realise our part in recognising what those ‘oars’ are and can be.
Once we realise what it actually is that we have to row with and make the most of it, we might find we can row faster, farther and enjoy every minute!
“Everyone must row with the oars he has.”
You’re in a boat you don’t want to be in. And you’ve got some kind of oars. Some of us have nice, smooth, well engineered oars that make the trip better. Others have some old boards you found in the bottom of your leaky, creaky boat. Some of us may be on a raft with only a pole to propel us forward. So. Where you are is where you are. You might wish you were in a different boat with different oars, but you aren’t. Your life right this minute is what it is. You (like all the rest of us) have got to decide what to do now.
You can either sit in the boat complaining and sobbing and screaming. Or … you can start rowing. The whining and crying aren’t going to do any good in the end. They might bring some relief temporarily, but the fact is, you’ve got to start rowing with the oars you’ve got.
Hint: the trip will go better, and you’ll get to your destination faster if you just accept where you are and figure out where you want to end up, and get going.
Here’s a story that doesn’t involve a boat, but it does involve being in a really crappy place. It’s the story of Paul, who was in a dark, smelly, wet prison (most likely in shackles) when he wrote the words below.
Paul seems to be saying that you can learn (yes LEARN) to be content in “any and every” situation.
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12
Earlier Paul wrote: “No dear ones, I am not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead …. ” Philippians 3:13a
When the winds of life don’t hit your sails, you grab the oars of life and you start pushing.
The early bird catches the worm. British Proverb (you should wake up and start work early if you want to succeed).
Oars include his attitude, … (the first line of this web page) …, his ability to engage others to get help him row that boat etc.
A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
Saying
Said to mean that you will do whatever you have to do, even if it is difficult or dangerous.
Cambridge Dictionary
Play your cards right
To say or do things in a situation in such a way that you gain as much as possible from it
Who knows? If you play your cards right, maybe he’ll marry you.
