Thoughtful Health: Slogans We Hold Dear: An Exercise in Thought

"Words to live by". How fitting to begin this article about slogans with a slogan. Especially in light of the fact that we often "live by" the words that others have given to us with little to no explanation , exposition, or further thought. How dangerous! There is no doubt that some of the slogans we find very familiar in our lives require little explanation beyond the words themselves but I have found a few that on the surface seem perfectly fine but after quiet reflection began to be bothersome. Bothersome because an entire idea surrounding the phrase cannot be formulated without expounding on it. I believe what happens then is a form of limitation that now governs our lives because, after all, they are words we live by which in turn helps to make an incomplete life. This is important to consider because slogans have seemingly replaced thought in our culture today. We find this in examples like when then President George Bush uttered the words "Mission accomplished" when it was obvious to anyone who cared to look that it had not been. Or another slogan like "Change" uttered by now President Obama when, again, if anyone cared to look they would find that nothing has changed. Many people, however, did not and do not care to look and believed/believe both slogans still to this very day because not much thought has gone into their meanings. We cannot allow the "words we live by" to be void of meaning and be one of the causes of an incomplete life. Here are a few other examples that you will find very familiar:

Opportunity only knocks once - The Honda Year End event comes to mind when I think of this phrase. You've probably seen the Honda commercials around Christmas when the animated character called Mr. Opportunity come a'knockin'. At the end of the commercial he simulates knocking on the television screen to entice would be customers to buy a car because this event only comes once (a year!). The savvy ad executives for Honda is playing on the old adage about opportunity only knocking once. But is this true? In my own experience I have had opportunities presented to me which I considered golden but unfortunately I was not prepared at the time to seize upon it. When this happens to us we tend to feel a bit bitter or sullen over the missed opportunity. The primary reason for this is we have been programmed over and over again that this time will be the last time and an opportunity missed is gone forever. In his book Meditations of a Leader: Think on These Things, John Maxwell summarizes the root meaning of opportunity. To paraphrase, the term "opportunity" is derived from the Latin phrase "ob porter" which described a ship from those days that waited for the tide to turn in their favor so that they may safely enter a harbor. From time to time a ship and her crew, for whatever reason, would miss the in-going tide and be forced to wait until the next tide that would carry them in. Usually the crew of this ship, being disappointed of course, would make themselves ready for the next tide because surely it would come again. This is how we should conduct ourselves when we miss an opportunity. Instead of sulking let's busy ourselves with preparing for the next tide to come in. Opportunities, much like the tide, will go away only to return at some future time. Be ready! Of course I must point out the irony of the Honda Year End Event and the fact that it too most certainly returns just like any other opportunity.

Experience is the best teacher - Who doesn't know someone who can't seem to get it right? They continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. It could be in the arena of love, business, family or any number of other areas. It happens to the very best of us. Sometimes what we want stands in direct contradiction to what we need and that's where we can become blind to our own plight. We continue day after day, year after year to beat our heads against the wall. The wall is a metaphorical representation of experience and our head is no match for it. That is until we analyze why we continue to beat our heads against the wall and make the necessary adjustments to stop the self abuse. But if the wall (i.e. experience) is the best teacher why would we hit our heads against the wall more than once? The answer is rather simple. Analyzing our experiences and making adjustments accordingly is what allows us to grow from lessons learned through our experiences. Frankly speaking, not many people do this. Nelson Boswell stated "The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake".The emphasis is on viewing or analyzing one's mistakes or successes. To analyze one's own actions requires discipline and time and a true desire to grow. Analyzing your experience and making needed adjustments is the best teacher!

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Knowledge is power - This is an immensely popular saying. For years I have had people tell me in various venues for various reasons that "knowledge is power". Why is it power? Does knowledge somehow find a way to animate itself, walk around and impose its will on others? Of course not. Can knowledge make otherwise lazy and unproductive people get up and do something. Not at all. Can obtaining degree after degree guarantee success on the field of life? Again the answer is no. So what is it about knowledge that makes it powerful? Put simply: its use. A more accurate phrasing, in my opinion, would be "the use of knowledge is power". The gathering of knowledge is a very important initial step and must not be overlooked but the power resides in its use. Cavett Robert, one of America's greatest public speakers and a best selling author once said "Never forget that the only material which can be used in building a life is positive action". Get up, get moving and actually use the knowledge you have gained!

Forgive and forget - "I'll forgive you but I won't forget"! Have you heard this before? Have you said this before? This is one of the most often misunderstood phrases in the phraseologist tool box. The misunderstanding of what it means to forgive and forget defies logic and therefore most people reject it even if they think they believe it. The problem resides in the fact that most people cannot erase their memories. With this handicap, if it could be described as such, it becomes impossible to fruitfully employ this ideology. To help clear up years of confusion surrounding this phrase it would be helpful to study the origins of the word "forget". The Greek word for a lack of memory is amnesis. The a- means "not or without" and -mnesis means "memory". It should look familiar because it is where the English word "amnesia" is derived. For the sake of this article the more important derivative of the Greek word is "amnesty". Amnesty is the quality of forgiving a violation and not holding that violation against the violator. This is the true nature of "forgetting" which doesn't mean to wipe from one's memory but to not hold a past harm against the person who has hurt you. In this way you no longer have to defy logic by trying to conduct a memory wipe to truly forgive someone. A true test of forgiveness is the ability to remember what someone has done to you and be able to not be hostile, angry, upset or experience any other negative emotion towards that person. Many of the sacred writings of ancient text highlight this truth in many ways over and over again if you care to research what is being espoused here. "Love lets the past die", said Lewis Smedes and I imagine that love is the root that allows true forgiveness to grow.

In our modern age we are often the victim of covert and overt manipulation whether it be for good or not. Good or bad it is a must we open our minds and eyes and take a look at truths we hold dear with much thought and contemplation of its meaning. We must teach ourselves and teach our children to look deeper, to question, to observe broadly. The list above is a start and will expand upon itself as there are many truths we hold on to without question in the realm or politics, medicine, food "science", etc., etc. What slogans or truths have you heard over and over again that gives you pause and makes you think there must be more to it?