Like A Knife Cutting Through Water

Every now and again, my mom likes to teach me a Korean proverb. I think she does this because she knows how much I like learning new Korean phrases and tidbits of Korean culture that I missed having grown up in Canada.

One of the best proverbs that she has ever shared with me translates to:

Like a knife cutting through water.

Now before you start thinking that this proverb is similar to an English metaphor that involves butter, let me set you straight.

We all know that arguments and even full blown verbal fights are virtually guaranteed to exist in even the tightest of families.

"Like a knife cutting through water" is the Korean ideal of relationships within a family.

The idea is that love among family members should be like water. You can cut through it with the sharpest of knives, but you can't keep it apart.

Like a knife cutting through water.

I hope that this thought helps you the next time that you go through a rough spell in one of your relationships. It has definitely been a source of strength for me on a number of occasions.