Recently I was talking with someone about turning points that we have in life. Do you know what I mean? Those times we all experience that serve as a turning point in our life - it turns us away from something detrimental and towards something beneficial, turns us away from a toxic relationship so we can move toward a healthy one, etc. Turning points are usually those things that we experience and see as a huge step but others, even our spouses, may look at and shrug their shoulders like, "It isn't THAT big of a deal." But we know don't we? We know it really IS that big of a deal. We know that no matter how small or insignificant it looks or looked like to others that for us it was huge. It was monumental. It was game-changing. It was life transforming. And maybe eventually others will see it really is a big deal and maybe they won't. No matter. It was a turning point for regardless. And nobody else's response or lack of response to our moment should diminish its work in our lives. The conversation I had led me to reflect on some of the turning points I've experienced in the past few years. I'm so incredibly grateful for those turning points. They have helped refine me and discover who I really am. What about you? What turning points can you think of for your life that were huge for you but nobody else seemed to think so?
There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.
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