plant trees whose shade you will not sit under
PLANT TREEZ hooz SHAYD yoo wil not SIT UN-der
plænt triːz huːz ʃeɪd juː wɪl nɒt sɪt ˈʌndərListen
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Dictionary meaning
a proverb expressing the value of long-term thinking and investment in future generations at personal cost to oneself, widely attributed to the Greek statesman Caecilius Metellus and present in various forms across Chinese, Turkish, and African wisdom traditions; the image is of someone planting a slow-growing tree knowing they will never live to sit in its shade, finding meaning in the act of provision for those who come after; in Asian cultural contexts this proverb resonates with Confucian emphasis on ancestral responsibility and the cultivation of conditions for descendants' flourishing; it is cited in discussions of environmental stewardship, infrastructure investment, educational endowment, and any policy domain where costs are immediate and benefits accrue over generational timescales beyond the decision-maker's own lifetime
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