Robert F. Kennedy, in a speech in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1966, reportedly said: There is a Chi-nese curse which says, May he live in interesting times. Like it or not, we live in interesting times.
While widely held as Chinese and ancient, according to sources who research such things, the well-known phrase apparently is more likely an American invention and modern. The curse stems from the meaning implied in interestingeither as a synonym for harmful or as a euphem-ism for a world so complex life becomes difficult and frustrating.
But just as the generally accepted origins of the phrase seemingly are bogus, so, too, is implying interesting automatically equates to something bad. As with most things in life, its what we make of it. The Chinese recognize this, too. In the Chinese language, Im told the symbol representing crisis is a combination of the figures for danger and opportunity.
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