Two People Shorten the Road

As a percentage of their population, the Republic of Ireland has more English speakers than any of the countries we have covered this past week.  Of the countries with over 1 million people, it has the largest percentage of English speakers.  So, I want to cover an Irish phrase.  After looking around, I decided to go with the proverb, two people shorten the road.

Two people shorten the road comes from the Irish, “Giorraíonn beirt bóthar.”  I don’t know how often Irish phrases are said in English, but I like this one.  The phrase comes from an old Celtic story of a man and his son.  They are travelling down a road to see the king when the father stops.  He sits down and refuses to continue.  He asks his son to shorten the journey.  The son goes home and asks his wife for advice.  She tells him that a good story will shorten the trip.  The next day, the son tells a magnificent story all the way to White Strand.

The story tells us how important it is to have a companion and friends in life.  They make the world more tolerable.  You can talk to them, spend time together, and enjoy the journey.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  It basically means that you should enjoy your time.  Two people shorten the road means life is easier when you have someone by your side.

 

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Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population
https://www.connollycove.com/irish-proverbs/
https://www.businessinsider.com/funny-irish-sayings-2015-3

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