LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
Introduction: Prima facie, this proverb cautions the one who wants to take a swim in a lake or pond or in the sea. It is not how deep the water is, because a good swimmer need not bother about depth. But then there are other looming dangers in any water bodies, like snakes, crocs or the creepers of the lotus flower that would entwine around one’s legs. Hence, it is said Look before you leap.
Explanation: Besides cautioning about swimming, it advices to be careful before commencing any new venture. The word ‘Look’ means to analyze the pros and cons of a thing that we intend to pursue. It can better be termed as having a vision or plan before we swing into action.
And the word ‘Leap’ denotes our action. This is how a wise man is implementing his move, a calculated one which is called, Mission. It is a practical move. These two aspects are the basic things to face any task or situation. Even wars are fought this way: with a clear vision and mission; in other words, planning and execution.
This is applicable not only to the elders, but more pertinent to the student community also. What a student wants to be after the higher education in the school, depends on what group he/she is going to take in standard X. It does not stop there itself, but continue to be looked into in college, employment, marriage and many stages thereafter.
Even a retired person is no exemption to this future plan. What he/she is going to do after retirement, where to keep his money safely, whether in the bank or in the post office, how he/she is going to spend the money – all these course of action can be compared like laying a road before commencing a journey. This way a journey will be comfortable and pleasant.
Chalk out an impeccable future plan. Understand where you are going. Peale had said, “Plan your work for today and every day, and then work your plan.”
It is immaterial what one’s profession is. Be it a doctor or an engineer or anybody else. A doctor, prior to performing an operation to a patient, normally ensures whether there is sufficient blood available ex-stock in the blood bank.
If not, he asks the kith and kin of the patient to bring in a blood donor who has the same group of blood, in case the patient needs the blood. It is a sort of proactive measure, or otherwise, the patient may die for want of blood.
Conclusion: A civil engineer must foresee that there is enough building material before commencing the construction work, especially, before the ceiling work is commenced. This way one can cite a lot of examples. But everything is based on this proverb, “Look before you leap.”
Precisely, it cautions one to remain alert even while selecting a hotel or anything is it wedding proposals, too. Victor Hugo said, “Caution is the eldest child of Wisdom.”