Build Your Own Survival Kit of Quotes
How ageless quotes can help you meet the daily challenges of life.
Countless times during our day, lessons we’ve learned along life’s roads volunteer and come back to us. Rejoining us wherever we are. At the movies, at our places of worship (should we have any); while at school, work, or play; or in retirement. It is our nature to learn from our experiences and do better the next time. Knowing that there may not be a next time; that tomorrow is never guaranteed, we hand off our life lessons to the next generation, hoping it will do them some good in their times of indecision.
As individuals, these human traits of trial and tribulations, remembrance and learning, do not prove us special, they only proves us human. If not we wouldn’t also do just the opposite: Withholding evidence. Bearing false witness. Doing unto others things we would never want done to us.
All together, theses truths prove us humans to be a faulty lot.
For the sake of tomorrow and tomorrow’s child, we should want to be less faulty.
As a means of lessening my faults here are four quotes and one song title that I often find helpful when decision time is at hand.
Be careful what you wish for
Though I can’t list the time or recall the place where I first heard the words, “be careful what you wish for”, I’ve heard them times aplenty to know their importance.
What we want, most times, isn’t really what we need. What we want, most other times, isn’t what it seems to be. Because of these easily proven truths, the saying is deep rooted in the hearts of many and is often recalled and passed on.
On occasion, when one and two do not seem to add up to a meaningful sum, it is good and reasonable for us to give what we are considering a second thought, or seek a fresh perspective before instinctively reacting. Once things start to add up, and the scales read true, you can be sure that whatever decision you might make will not have been as hastily made as it could have. As a result your faults will have been reduced. Wishing your troubles away, acting and reacting in haste, can lead to poor decisions being made. Ones you will later wish you could take back. Such bad habits only help to create more faults.
After the first and second thoughts have passed a clearing of the mind comes. Along with the clearing comes a recollection of many other handy truisms, proverbs, and axioms; and a multitude of witticisms. Thoughts that had been laying dormant far back in our mind come crawling forward. It is beautiful how the mind dutifully reacts when summoned to do what it was designed or evolved to do.
And the contents of the survival kit of quotes magically expand.
The law of unintended consequences
The saying, beware of the law of unintended consequences, is one I keep really close to the surface, often reminding others of it’s power and truth. Secretly hoping the decision maker will give more thought to what it is they are about to do — or say — before they do — or say — it. Most times they don’t. They go right on to doing whatever it were they had set in their mind to do. So often that proves unfortunate.
Having to do — or say — something, to precipitate a positive effect, requires forethought. It requires study and preparation. If not, no good will come of it. If it is your desire to create a negative affect, then your forethought will have to be sinister. Surely that isn’t what we want. Sinister multiplies our faults. However, if your intent is to precipitate a positive effect, and you skip the forethought part; and the study and preparation part; your outcome will be no less harmful than it would have been had your intent been sinister. An increase in faults will be the outcome, and history will, by default, will go into repeat mode. Try, try, try again.
The only way the truth can be gamed is if the people doing the gaming have themselves been gamed. Don’t let yourself be gamed? Be the truth.
No risk, no rewards
Some people can’t seem to learn a thing without first putting the lives of themselves or others at risk. It’s as though they can’t truly know the truth until the fleeting moment of abject truth, traveling faster than the speed of light — occurring just before the alert sounding from the wheels of the bus forecasts their most immediate end of the road— letting them know, harshly and finally, a tad too late, that they made a terrible boo boo.
Life can’t be lived without risk. True. Life will end sooner, rather than later, for those who don’t make the best decisions and take deliberate precautions. Also true.
The lesson, to be forever mindful of, is this; don’t run out into traffic thinking the world is going to stop for you. It will not. If you do you will get run over. It’s impossible to be wise and dead at the same time. Unless you’re a good quote.
Here rests a memory and affirmation. Stupid is as stupid does.
Those who forget the past
I was listening to the radio when a news break came on, as they do at the top and the bottom of every hour, and a mention was made about the latest international flair up in the holy lands . I tucked my thoughts away. Well, I tried to tuck them away. No sooner than I had moved on to the next thing, the thoughts came roaring back to me, and when they did they weren’t alone.
They brought back with them another thought. A thought which turned into this writing. Those who forget the past are doomed, cursed, destined, or damn to repeat it. I’d been wondering how history, as it relates to needless wars, with all of it’s lessons about the stupidity of war, can be so easily shoved aside for the sake of convenience or pride. Such senile acts guarantee the stupidity of history repeating. It makes us more faulty, not better.
Relating to the news break, hopefully our President will be reminded of the past and not error, or make matters worst, in our name. Cross your fingers — nothing else seems to be working.
Which brings us to my final quote, axiom, witticism, aphorism, truism, proverb, pretentious hegemonic theory, or song title or lyric, that I put into my survival kit of everlasting quotes.
If you don’t know me by now
As recorded by the legendary R&B group Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes featuring Teddy Pendergrass.
When the truth is evident, and unsparing; unavoidable and painful; the lesson will be great. If you turn your back on the lesson, willfully choosing to live in denial, you will never know what you needed to know to go further. And if you get enough people to do the same as you, misery will soon blanket all. It is so much better, and emotionally and spiritually rewarding, to stay woke. Be smart, be strong, move forward, and don’t forget to carry along memories of lessons learned. And some good quotes
Random thoughts about actions and consequences, stupidity and consequences, and the future of America and the World.
