What does "Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree" mean?
2006-12-28 15:24:29 · 10 answers · asked by Travis 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
It refers to being in a state of "just being". There is no worry, nor expectation. There is no confusion nor interference. Just being. No thinking about the past, nor the future. No concern over what others think or what they are doing. It is a simple and very spiritual place. In the womb the baby takes what it needs.....oxygen, fluids and nourishment...but it takes no more than it needs. The baby also does this without guilt. Trees also take what they need from their surroundings without being greedy or feeling that they have taken too much. Babies and trees also grow to their fullest potential when left alone.....no pruning or fertilizer actually needed. Actually I could write a book on the depth of this one quote.
2006-12-28 15:34:10 · answer #1 · answered by Medusa 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In the womb a man is at the mercy of natural occurrences or choices on the mother's part. The unborn baby has no choice so he has an easy time managing affairs, no thought necessary. After he is born other rules and regulations govern his daily activities. If the mother wants to smoke while pregnant for example no one would be able to stop her...she is like a god to the unborn child. After the child is born then the child has governmental advocates and the general public the tries to enforce rules that the child should not be exposed to secondhand smoke. It is all a mater of nature, trees grow according to nature, babies grow according to nature until they are born, then it is nuture.
2006-12-29 00:32:03 · answer #2 · answered by Sheila D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like a metaphor. A tree 'manages' to draw water & nutrients from the surrounding earth just as a fetus draws nourishment from it's mother. Therefore a tree efficiently uses what is available as does the baby. After a baby is born, it must request what it wants by tears first and then learning to get needed things by him/herself.
2006-12-29 00:44:02 · answer #3 · answered by swarr2001 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does. ~George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionists, 1903- he was a great thinker who wrote tons of quotes.
2006-12-28 23:35:35 · answer #4 · answered by escorpiona_24 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The task of man is to tend and nurture the earth. Men do not do this well. The tree does. It feeds, houses, shelters and returns the gift of life that Earth has given it. it does not complain or work hard to take from the earth. It does not kill.
The tree is truly a virtuous being.
2006-12-28 23:34:33 · answer #5 · answered by tian_mon 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Maybe it's because all a tree does is just grow and that's all a man does for the nine months he's in his mother's womb.
2006-12-28 23:27:29 · answer #6 · answered by ♥ Tori ♥ 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think it means like, the only time a human can actually like live well is when he is in the womb.. I'm not sure how to explain it but its kinda saying no one can manage things right except for when he is just being created.. LOL I can't explain it.
2006-12-28 23:28:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It means before he is born of the women when he is still a spirit! And a tree is never confused.
2006-12-28 23:27:04 · answer #8 · answered by bungyow 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think it means after a human is born they are able to make good decisions. Only until after they are born they make crappy decisions "as well as a tree."
2006-12-28 23:28:50 · answer #9 · answered by Noneyabusiness 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
YOU ARE NOT TO EAT OF THE FRUIT ON A TREE UNTIL IT IS MATURE TO EAT
2006-12-28 23:29:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋