Introductional Aphorisms
An aphorism is a highly condensed form of writing, like a haiku or a tweet. In the space of an aphorism one can find the theme of a novel, the lesson of an age, or a pithy diversion.
An aphorism verses traditional text is like a short physics equation compared to an explainer textbook. It’s like a tweet compared to a magazine article. It’s like a shot of espresso compared to a pitcher of fresh brewed tea.
To demonstrate the form, here are a few selections coupled with a short gloss:
1. To be placed on treacherous ground is good, generally you learn to stand on your own feet when the ground is rocking under them. — Vilhelm Ekelund
It is easy to find our lives stagnant from routine. The daily commute and office environment can drown out other parts of our lives that are more meaningful or have more capacity to help us grow. Just as a college engineering student gains much more from a design project than from his lectures, one of the intangible benefits of entrepreneurship is that it forces a worker out of his cage and into an arena with a wider view of the terrain, one where he not only has skin in the game but also his neck on the line.
One can recognize an experienced sailor by his ability to maintain balance in rough seas. Anyone who has been on an extended cruise may find that when they get back to shore the ground still sways a little underneath them, this is natural and it usually passes. Like a veteran returning from a combat zone, memories of the turbulence can in some occasions be hard to shake but just as Dramamine can sooth a cruiser’s stomach psychiatry does offer some avenues of relief to those that need it.
2. Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist — it reduces him to fighting weight. — Josh Billings
Just as an aphorism’s wisdom can best be revealed through shedding all but the meat of a text, those who do not face adversity may find that they have accumulated so much noise and distractions in their life that even their own identity, who they are and what they care about, is clear not even to themselves. Adversity forces us to focus only on what is important, whether it be our family, religion, social circle, or the problem at hand, and set on hold those other aspects of our lives that may interfere with these priorities. Thus adversity in many ways can be a blessing.
3. Passion is born deaf and dumb. — Honoré De Balzac
When starting a drawing on a blank page the hardest line to draw is the always first one, it has the potential to set the tone for what will come after and could either open the door to a masterpiece or stop it in its tracks. Such it is with romance. For some the hardest thing in the world is to break the ice, to jump the chasm between stranger or acquaintance and something more meaningful. As Balzac infers, it is like an attraction can sap our speech or deafen our ears, leaving us only to gape open jawed and mute.
True story, I once tried to use as a pickup line the following cheesy joke: “Why is Helen Keller a bad driver? Because she is a woman.” On paper it was probably the worst possible line one could use, managing to offend both the handicapped and the fairer sex all in a single line. And yet somehow it worked, she cracked a smile and next thing I knew we were having a conversation (although to this day I’m still not sure if it was out of pity or attraction).
4. If you’re careful enough, nothing good or bad will ever happen to you. — Ashleigh Brilliant
This aphorism is self-explanatory.
5. Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes a day, wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. — Elbert Hubbard
We all make mistakes, but over the years I’ve started to realize that it is the errors of omission, the things left unsaid or the adventures that were not embarked, that incur the most regret.
Charlie Munger once said “I like people admitting they were a complete stupid horse’s ass. I know I’ll perform better if I run my nose in my mistakes. This is a wonderful trick to learn.”
*For further readings please check out my Table of Contents, Book Recommendations, and Music Recommendations.
Books that were referenced here or otherwise inspired this post:
The Bed of Procrustes — Nassim Taleb
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Albums that were referenced here or otherwise inspired this post:
Amplified Heart — Everything But the Girl
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you enjoyed or got some value from this post please press the 👏 button to increase visibility or even better say hello on Twitter at @_NicT_.
For further readings please check out my Table of Contents, Book Recommendations, and Music Recommendations.
