Quote-worthy

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

― Oscar Wilde

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”

― Albert Einstein

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”

― Mark Twain

We are predisposed to embrace the aphoristic, the epigrammatic, the quote-worthy—the concise, short snippets of truth that offer the among the most efficient means of attaining wisdom, the highest truth-to-energy-invested ratio out of any form of study we can do. 

But how many of these one- or two-sentence adages have we actually imbued into the walk of our daily life? To what extent have we actually internalized and integrated the truths within the framework of our consciousness? If, in the heat of the moment, they serve as a useful reminder to you to be your best self, so be it. But the greatest truths in our lives are derived from experience, whether the grueling challenges we overcame in life, or the countless hours we spent dutifully reading, writing, introspecting, and engaging in discourse to compose our thoughts. Without it, these adages become meaningless, hollow words that we merely use to affect a false sense of enlightenment and erudition. 

It is only when we understand truth in its most unrefined, coarse, and ungraceful form—the knowledge that is forged through trial and tribulation, that is gleaned from years upon years of diligence and mindfulness—that we can far more profoundly understand the beloved, elegant, quote-worthy adages.