20091004

"Contradictory Proverbs IV"


"The early bird catches the worm. " - Ancient Proverb.

Sure... but wait, doesn't the second mouse get the cheese?

No doubt, there are advantages to being first, but there is also a lot to learn from others' experiences.

An incident that happened a few months ago: I went to the hospital for some injections. The whole process took me less than an hour, but that was only because my friends who had been through the same process a couple days earlier knew exactly where to go and in what order. They had found those things out the hard way--by spending an entire day at the hospital! They got their shots earlier, but I got them done much quicker.

Of course, that was just one case and you can easily find a counterexample. As usual, it depends. It depends on what you're looking for. Maybe you want something, anything, but quickly. Maybe you want something better.

To sneak in another proverb, good things in life are worth the wait. Maybe sometimes it's better to be the second mouse than be the early bird?

P.S: Cheese > Worms !