Epigrams

I love epigrams. Most of the time, I tend to express myself in an exceedingly verbose manner, as you can probably tell if you have read any of my posts here. I ramble. So I love trying to come up with a way to express big ideas more efficiently, with minimal words.

As such, I've come up with a number of epigrams over the years, most of which are forgotten to me because I've never had the good sense to write them down. That changes now!

I will make occasional posts here of epigrams I've come up with as I think of them. Some may lead to other discussions, but I'll post epigrams occasionally as collections (i.e. not a new post every time I think I've come up with something witty). Sometimes they may not precisely meet the definition of an epigram, which I guess doesn't have a very precise definition anyway, and some may not be as witty as I think they are. Very often they will be riffs on or reversals of known sayings, which I like to do, but they will always be my own concoctions, not quotes. Not intentionally anyway. (I have on occasion unintentionally plagiarized others, saying something I'd thought was my own when I'd clearly heard it elsewhere and forgotten. I'll try to avoid that.)

So, without further ado, some epigrams of mine. Some of these are kind of old...

• Conventional wisdom usually involves more convention than wisdom.
• It is better to be thought of as the first of something than the next of something.
• A rose by another name may smell as sweet, but would you take a whiff if I told you it was feet?
• The two birds in the bush are worth the one in your hand.
•  There is much more freedom in accepting your insignificance than there is in trying to prove your significance.
• Slow and steady wins the race only if no one fast and steady is running.
• The early worm gets eaten by the bird.
• Those seeking perfection will find only flaws.
• You can drown in a one inch puddle of water, and you can survive hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the sea. It's not so much about the quantity of the water as it is about how you approach it.
• We are the sum of our actions. Not our thoughts or intents, but our deeds. We will not be remembered for our potential, but for how well we fulfill it.
• Are you really against all those things you're against, or are you just envious of those who get to do them?
• Those who stop to smell the roses will be left behind in the dark, to be eaten by the wolves of progress, while those who stand in righteous poses are elected gods of the world.