Some time ago I watched a TV show where one of the characters shouted "An open door is an invitation" just before she did something that may or may not have been stupid. I have wondered about that line ever since. In some ways it would be nice to be that optimistic. In other ways that would be a really stupid and annoying way to live.
Simple phrases like this (aphorisms, yes I know big words even though I don't use them) sound so simple and obvious, yet when you get below the surface they aren't true at all or at least aren't true in all circumstances. When I was young I found these impressive, but as I learned more about life and looked deeper into these sayings I learned to distrust them. Simple, obvious truths that aren't true are logical traps that should be avoided.
Still, is it better in general to consider an open door an invitation to enter? Your life would probably be happier until you got shot by somebody mistaking you for a thief. Getting shot does tend to ruin your day if not your life however so it probably doesn't quite balance out.
Overall, while the phrase still fascinates me I don't believe it is a good way to live. I may have missed out on some opportunities but I haven't been shot yet. Well, lately anyway.
3 comments:
My mother and grandmother (and probably generations before that) were the Queens of Aphorisms, so I have spent a lot of time pondering them.
Aphorisms are true..if you consider them correctly.
An open door is an invitation may well be true *if* the circumstances suggest it.
In a dormitory, apartment building, an office with doors, or assisted living community -- and maybe in some small towns where everyone knows everyone -- an open door may well be an invitation.
I wouldn't try that in the city or a suburb, though.
And the invitation is to ask if someone is free to chat, not to march in and make yourself at home.
Aphorisms are usually true, at least in some limited circumstances, but they all have assumptions behind them. If you ignore the assumptions behind them, you certain;y are running a risk.
By the way -- go to bed! Forty hours is waaaaay to long to be awake!
Was that from "Dead like me"? I've seen it too. But she loved cliff jumping so for her that was perfect.
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