What was that saying?

What was that saying? While growing up, I was exposed to a lot of sayings, proverbs, and maxims. These include classics like the following. A stitch in time saves nine. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Put your money where your mouth is. You've got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Haste makes waste. Make hay while the sun shines. No pain, no gain! Craziness is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome. Many of these sayings are meant to have the same instructional effects as Jesus' New Testament parables or Aesop's fables.

My dad often made a point by regaling me with a maxim appropriate to the situation. Since I took Latin in junior high, high school, and college, I also became familiar with a number of meaningful lines like Carpe diem (Seize the day), Caveat emptor (Buyer beware), and Nulla salus extra ecclesiam (No salvation outside the church). When I read Benjamin Franklin's pivotal pivotal autobiography, I noticed that it was filled with many proverbs that were designed to teach important lessons on how to live your life.

Although many of the sayings, parables, and fables I was exposed to were meant to steer me in a positive direction, I didn't always follow them. In fact, sometimes I ended up doing the exact opposite. One example that comes to mind is Caveat Emptor. I often found myself purchasing the first thing that attracted me instead of carefully considering its value and price. Another one that comes to mind is Aesop's fable about the hare and the tortoise which instructs one to proceed slowly like a tortoise instead of fast like a hare. I've often found myself rushing headlong into a new project without thinking it through.

Instead of being led by proverbs and sayings, I prefer to use affirmations to direct my way forward because they state a positive goal as a fait accomplis or foregone conclusion. A good example for me is: I am confident and assertive. I can say this to myself even when my knees are shaking with trepidation. Throughout the years, I've acquired quite a number of yearly affirmation books. These include a positive daily quote followed by a brief story to illustrate that quote. Books like these often have an over-arching theme such as: Blues ain't nothing but a good soul feeling bad, or Meditations for people who worry too much.

I also believe in the power of prayer. One of my favorites is the serenity prayer which I try to say every morning after I wake up. It goes something like this: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time and praying that Thy will, not mine

be done. I firmly believe that the cumulative effect of these prayers and affirmations help to carry me through each day and face difficulties when they inevitably arise. And that reminds

me of yet another proverb: When the going gets tough, the tough get going!