“Lying is not only excusable; it is not only innocent; it is, above all, necessary and unavoidable. Without the ameliorations that it offers, life would become a mere syllogism and hence too metallic to be borne.” H. L. Mencken 1880-1956
If you examine the phrase at the top you will find out that 9 out of 10 times it is true. Hence the saying broken promises.
I'm in a bit of a philosophical mood at the moment so I'm gonna pick this statement apart.
Let’s take the first part of the statement. ‘Promises are made to be broken’. First of all let’s examine the state one usually is when one makes a promise or vows to do something. 90% of the time one is in an emotional state of frustration, despair, anger and or in a euphoric state. The theme here is that each of these states of emotion represents an extreme deviation from the norm, either an extreme positive or an extreme negative deviation from the mean.
When it comes to lies on the other hand, the person is usually thinking in a devious manner. It is more likely that the person is in more control of his or her senses when a lie is going to be told, simply because one spends time thinking about how one is going to go about telling this lie. So the process of telling a lie involves some thought, while usually the process of making a promise usually involves none.
Once again remember there is nothing wrong with making a mistake in fact there is something good about making one, it gives us the chance to learn something that we might not have, had we not made the mistake. So let’s stand up and dust ourselves and congratulate ourselves for having the foresight to even recognize that we made a mistake. Most people do not even realize they are making a mistake or mistakes. Then take it to the next step, study your mistake and ingrain into your memory. When you do, your mind will automatically look for ways to prevent you from repeating the same mistake.
Some interesting thoughts I came across
Glass is half full or half empty, if you say half empty you are supposedly a pessimist and if you say half full you are an optimist. My response to both answers is that anyone who attempts to label you based on that response needs to have his or her head examined. The best answer is “who cares”
Why is it that so many people look forward to retiring? Let’s expand on this, to them retiring is doing nothing but sitting on their arse while their front end (stomach) grows at unbelievable rate. Would it not be better to say I cannot wait for the day I can get rid of these shackles that bind me to a 9-5-slave life and finally do the things I want to really do. Never retire always look to keep your mind and body busy.
Another interesting fact, why is it when someone is lucky we say he or she has the luck of the devil when they get out of a tight spot and not the luck of a God. Or why do we also say I had devilishly good time, why not a Godly great time.
One can be absolutely truthful and sincere even though admittedly the most outrageous liar. Fiction and invention are of the very fabric of life.
And finally ... in closing, what New Year would be complete without a resolution. Yet another promise that is made to be broken. I promise to make a list of things that I have every intention of doing. But I will not do any of them.
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