Scapegoat proverbs

Speaking wisely is no indication of wisdom itself, but it is indication of some degree of intelligence. Being “speechless” is no indication of wisdom either and even worse it could mean lack of intelligence…

From all written word, proverbs are closer to wisdom as words could be.
They are full of essence and I consider them as the poetry of the written word…
They are small in size but more powerful than many pages…
Unavoidably all of my writings are full of them… to the extreme shall I add.

A collection of proverbs is like a basket full of mushrooms…
Some you can eat and they are wonderful…
Some you will eat and poison yourself…
And some can make you “feel good” but they can cloud your mind… 

Don’t blame the mushroom… Test, and re-test and make sure before you choose…
As always, above anything stands the sharp mind…
The basket below is full of “proverb-mushrooms” which I do not care to consume…

“While I breathe, I hope”
Hope is a state of mind
with little room to breathe…

The above proverb was the first one which I remember to detest, and I had epic arguments with an old friend of mine, who liked it… I was in my teenage years, but even now, I still find it pessimistic and good only for those who are reluctant in “doing something, anything” than just hopelessly… hoping.
Hoping is for those who usually chose to do little or nothing.

“Who dares wins”
He who dares simply dares…
And then we will see what we will see!

Along with emblems this proverb is found to be worn on many elite military units… I always thought it as too convenient, to put it on a soldier’s chest and then send him off to battle, to go dare.
Daring does not secure the outcome. In fact it can lead you more often to the opposite result, due to lack of thinking.
Winning… Everybody wants to win. But there is also losing and dying. This proverb certainly does not prepare you to die in combat…

“No sense making sense, we are but dust”
Dust we are alright… But thinking dust!
Makes sense, doesn’t it?!

Unfortunately most people seek “the easy way out” when it comes to the Big Questions of Life. They assume, they believe, they read books, they philosophize and they make sure to keep away from any relentless practice. But that’s not all. Some intentionally ignore to put the Questions all together. Or, in the case of our proverb, they make the “light” approach… 

We are aware of our own existence and the universe around us. No matter how tiny, insignificant, random, impermanent or short in time our being is… we have that grasp of self-knowledge. 
So, what is more vital? To concentrate on the dust or the thinking?!
Do we just glitter away or do we think ourselves further?!

“Better late than never”
The late-ones never do better.

In my apprenticeship years I had a great verbal argument over this one with my own… Sensei!
And I still insist that this proverb would be nice, if it was only true…
But I have never ever seen a single person being “late” (in anything) and then somehow, later on, convinced me that it was for the “better” rather than not at all…
Not even once my friends, just for the sake of making an exception…
Those who manage in “being late or attending later” (and finally shortly after that fail all together in their task) somehow manage to never feel sorry or sad. They don’t… because they “black it out” over the years, they are too busy working on their excuses, they just don’t care. Worst part is that this is one of the rare occasions where I do feel sorry and frustrated, on another person’s behalf.
When it’s late, it’s over…     

“As you sow, so you shall reap”
Life is not fair…
Adapt as soon as you can.

Stand up from your reading, go outside your front door and have a good look at the world… Now read my lips: This proverb is not happening ever!

“A rolling stone gathers no moss”
Constant movement and pulse
is proof of life and prosperity (in any field)

Allow me to put this in a humorous way…
Have you witnessed the life and times of Mick Jagger so far?!
How much more rolling combined with moss do you need?!

“Blood is thicker than water”
Relatives of any kind is what you’re stuck with.
All the rest of humanity is your free choice to deal with…

I have met many men in my lifetime.
And none of them, had water for blood!

“Crime does not pay”
…hello?! I cannot hear you!
Your message is breaking up…

If one could “tear down” society as we know it in a day and re-build another in the next one, he would realize that the biggest of humanity’s crimes are legal.
It is as simple as that…

“Everything is The Way”
If everything was The Way
Then why are so many at a loss?!

Maybe a Master of The Way possesses the qualities and accomplishments, so that through his eyes “Everything is The Way”. Yes! But then again the proverb should be read differently… For instance: “For a Master, everything is The Way” and I could live with that. As it is now, the proverb simply cannot stand. We have to have some amount of realism and it seems like, if everything was The Way, we would call it The Landscape… or something else.

It can’t be clearer than what it looks like from a beginner’s stand-point. When you know nothing at all, except for the fact that you are full of queries and questions, it becomes certain that everything else might be happening… but no-way “everything is The Way”.  
Since, once more, this would trigger inactivity of search, into a beginners mind…
“Everything is The Way, so why not simply hang around”

It could be that I will be back for more…
Nevertheless, my admiration for proverbs is not lessened even by an inch…
  
April 27, 2011