Watu hutaka furaha mpya. Huwa tunaona kuwa watu wengine wana bahati zaidi kuliko sisi wenyewe. Mazao daima ni bora katika shamba la jirani yetu; ng'ombe wake hutoa maziwa zaidi.
दूर के ढोल सुहावने लगते हैं
Ngoma za mbali husikika vizuri
隔籬飯香
Wali wa jirani hunukia vizuri
隣の芝生は青く見える
Majani ya jirani huonekana kijana zaidi
соседняя очередь всегда движется быстрее
Foleni nyingine husogea kwa kasi zaidi
[M]tu hawezi kupata uzoefu wa mambo yote yahusuyo maisha kutoka kwa wazazi wake: lazima awe tayari kufunzwa na ulimwengu, yaani kujifunza kutoka kwa wengine zaidi ya baba na mama yake.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
- Brutus in Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3 by William Shakespeare
Chinese: 趁熱打鐵
Thai: ตีเหล็กเมื่อแดง
Hindi: लोहा गरम हैं. मार दो हथौड़ा.
Irish: buail an t-iarann te
Swahili: Fua chuma wakati kingali moto
Image: Elimu Yetu teachers visit to Shanga Foundation, Arusha, Tanzania
People don't resist the temptation of new delights. We always deem that other people are more fortunate than ourselves. The crop is always better in our neighbour's field; his cows more rich in milk.
- Ovid The Art of Love, Page 24
दूर के ढोल सुहावने लगते हैं
From far away the drums sound better
隔籬飯香
Next door's rice smells good
隣の芝生は青く見える
The neighbor's grass seems green
соседняя очередь всегда движется быстрее
The other queue always moves faster
Haba na haba hujaza kibaba
Little by little fills up the jar
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.