Maxims are truths that are shared daily by all people everywhere. They are rules of conduct by which we learn to live safely and wisely. Here is a good example:
"Always look both ways before crossing the street."
Parents teach maxims to their children for their own good. Adults share them with one another to express in a few words a fundamental principle of life.
As we journey through life most of us "collect" favorite maxims which we enjoy sharing with others as evidence of our mental prowess. Lately several friends have shared favorite maxims with me so that I could add them to my collection. I share them with you, along with a few others I have picked up here and there.
Bill Rawlinson shared these two:
"Bad news does not improve with age."
"To err is human; to really screw up, use a computer."
Jennifer Jones gave me this one:
"Bibles that are falling apart belong to people who are not."
Jack Smollon offered these:
"It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser."
"It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere."
"Only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom."
Coach Spence McCracken likes these:
"The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do it anyway."
"Give the world the best you have and chances are you will get kicked in the teeth. Give it anyway."
"What you spend years building can be destroyed overnight. Build anyway."
Julia Child said this: "I was 32 years old when I started cooking. Until then I just ate."
Here is one from C. S. Lewis: "Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours."
Carl Sandburg offered a brief sentence which he said is always appropriate no matter what the circumstances: "Life goes on."
Some one-liners contain helpful humor even though they may not qualify as a genuine maxim:
"He who laughs last thinks slowest."
"Lottery: a tax on people who are bad at math.'
"Consciousness is that annoying time between naps."
"I used to have a handle on life, then it broke."
"All generalizations are false, including this one."
"Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy."
"Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now."
Albert Einstein said: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
Ken Callahan's ideas have greatly impacted my life. Here are a few of his sayings:
"Idealism is the ancestor of cynicism. Vision is the antidote to idealism."
"Wisdom is common sense in living life."
"Grace is slow to speak. Advice is quick to answer."
"Grace knows there are many ways to do something. Advice always knows the right way to do something."
"Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they will be frequently amused."
"Life becomes more complex when we try to do everything ourselves."
"You can steer a ship only when it is underway. When it sits dead in the water, you cannot steer it."
"Excessive helpfulness breeds excessive behavior."
"Excess breeds excess. Balance breeds balance."
"Memory is strong. Hope is stronger."
"The devil has a device called resentment with which he tries to convince Christians they are really doing the will of God."
"The art of life is to discover one's mission. The joy of life is to serve well."
"Our wants are the devil's way of distracting us from what is really important in life."
Finally I will offer one of Callahan's finest sayings to end all of this:
"The more I listen, the more I learn. It is extraordinary what people can teach you when they are given half a chance."