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Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water under the boat is its support.
Rumi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of perspective in understanding challenges and support in life.

Rumi's quote illustrates the dual nature of water in relation to a boat, symbolizing how situational factors can be perceived differently. While water inside the boat is detrimental and causes it to sink, water underneath serves as essential support, representing the idea that what may seem harmful in one context may be beneficial in another.

Themes

PerspectiveSupportChallengesLifeAdversity

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles during a conference.

More from Rumi

My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts, do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know.
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Every fragile beauty, every perfect forgotten sentence, you grieve their going away, but that is not how it is. Where they come from never goes dry. It is an always flowing spring.
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Whatever you keep hidden in your heart, God _x000D_ manifests in you outwardly. Whatever the root of _x000D_ the tree feeds on in secret, affects the bough and _x000D_ the leaf.
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Come on sweetheart let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me
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