Aphorisms

by Vladimir Bogdanov

We each have our own confusions, but there is only one truth we are all confused about.
Only through not being perfect can you share your perfection with others.
Nobody but you can make your false hopes real.
Our only choice is in how to be chosen.
Being forgiven makes you guilty.
A chance not taken is kept alive.
A real mistake admits no correction.
The only way to get somewhere is to go in circles.
We have no Fate till it comes to us through our relationships.
As unhappy as you may be with yourself, you can never have the will to be better.
Only an affirmative answer does away with the question.
One cannot sacrifice oneself, but one can appeal to others.
By being what you are, you cease to be what you are not.
Even taking measures you are only taking them.
You never are everything you are. Everything you are is not already and is not yet you.
By helping somebody, you deprive others, but only because they can’t be helped.
Achievement displaces the aim.
A man of reason doesn't believe in what he knows. A man of faith doesn't know what he believes in.
In order to speak, you have to be heard.
Your weakness protects you from power that you have no strength for.
By fighting yourself, you seal your imperfections.
One cannot be that which doesn't exist.
Asking for advice, you doubt your precious Self; accepting it, you loose yourself completely.
A word is a thought committed to absurdity.
Never leave the place where you still are.
Why bother doing what you can?
What does not exist now will never be.
Progress rejects the past and limits the future.
If you do not hear your own words, you cannot speak.
Once you’ve decided on your opinion, you’ll never know what else it could’ve been.
To understand something, you have to find someone who already does.
If not for consequences, there would be no reason for a cause.
By doing what you ought to do, you remain what you ought to be.
Only through difference of opinion can you come to an agreement.
The road ahead is always longer than the road behind; that is if you are still walking.
There are no choices in freedom, but freedom is something you can choose.
Honesty is a self-judgment that one should never trust.
Your longing for a natural life is no more natural than the unnatural life you came to quite naturally.
Sleeping helps us to stay awake; being awake puts us to sleep.
Only a truly dishonest person can consistently follow his own principles.
Of what it is or seems to be only the aftertaste will last.
There cannot be two different opinions of one and the same thing.
Only through being responsible for his own ideas can one afford to have his own opinion.
You have only yourself to blame for the crime you’ve been destined to commit.
Everything that exists exists for the last time.
It's better to be willing to make a mistake than to be afraid of committing it.
Out of doubt grows confidence.
Never think of yourself as something obvious.
Your eminence will always be a reproach to those who are not worthy of it.
To know how to help, you have to feel another’s pain, but only by being free of it will you be you able to help.
Nobody can deprive you of an opportunity, if it is truly yours, but they can certainly try.
One can freely arrive only at empty space.
Only your passion can serve as a measure of your indifference.
If something appears to be, it is.
The faster you move, the farther you are from the center. The farther you are from the center, the more freedom of movement you have.
You could never be worse than what you already are.
Even evil seeks perfection.
If you don't have something, it’s because you are not capable of having it.
One can only see what he is to the extent he is not what he is.
Your memory of the past is no better than your ability to foresee the future.
Music repeats itself, thus becoming the music.
Only by allowing yourself to make mistakes, will you be able to not make them.
Only a difference in meaning can mean anything.
To be somewhere else, you have to manage not to be here.
You can only destroy what you can create.
Any attempt is hopeless.
Your life is yours to consume as long as you have the stomach for it.
Only opposite views meet.
It doesn't matter what you do in this life, as long as your life matters.
There are no bad bodies, only souls inexperienced at wearing them.
If you dare, you can. If you can, you don't dare.
Don't get used to yourself, it may not last.
Try to keep your confidence within the limits of the ignorance it thrives on.
As Soul is tired of the stubborn Body, the Body is sick of the capricious Soul.
You cannot attain enlightenment, but you can allow yourself this simple luxury.
Your ignorance comes from knowing, but knowing something else.
Belief is an ignorance of understanding.
One can only understand literally.
Only your own life can make your problems show.
Only you can exceed your own limits.
The truth is binding, but only for those who believe in it.
To fool yourself you have to represents others.
It is not you that you see in the mirror, but it is only you that a mirror can reflect.
Nothing can prevent you from not being yourself.
There is nothing wrong with your illusions so long as you know how to make them real.
Whoever directs your life is not capable of living it.
Only unjust profit allows for the rewards.
Getting along with your illness is a sign of life.
You are paying for your sins, so as not to be in debt to your life, which kindly provides for your sinning.
You have to fail in order to earn your faults.
Doing what you can is the same as being what you are.
It’s the world that makes you think about yourself in the third person.
Whoever makes you worse isn't worthy of you.
If you have an illusion, there is a real reason for it.
You can never stop doing what you’re doing, but you are doomed to be blamed for it.
Your life is following you.
It’s obstacles, restrictions, and boundaries that show us the way.
When you are right, nobody is arguing with you. When nobody is arguing with you, your truth is wasted.
You always have what you've got to lose.
Your presence can never exceed the limits of other peoples’ expectations.
Only through light that has no shadow the shadows are revealed.
Correct action is nothing but an appropriate mistake.
Here and now there are no risks.
Remedies don’t cure us, but without them we would have no reason to be healthy.
You can never lose that which is truly yours.
Through seeing the cause, you might be doomed to its consequences.
Those who inspire should never be followed.
Reminiscence brings nothing back. It is no more than the one who recollects now.
Whatever is right for you is right for nobody else.
There is nothing more profitable than simply taking, but can you afford having no expense?
A direct and reliable way is a way to nowhere.
You cannot see what you cannot foresee. When you foresee, your vision is limited to what is to be seen.
If you cannot treat yourself with the respect you deserve, maybe you are not the one to be treated.
By fearing your own hopes you can see what are allowed to do.
To do something you have to believe in it, and that is all you have to do.
There is no joy in freedom, for no choices are good or bad.
You'll never be touched by something you’re indifferent to.
You cannot remember what you are done with.
Why ask a question, if you don't know the answer?
By taking responsibility for your actions, you fail to understand what’s going on.
Nothing reflects your true nature better than your own reflection.
There is no difference between doing it right and doing it wrong unless you prefer one or another.
If you don't go along with yourself, it will be somebody else.
You cannot know what should be done ahead of time, but you can know what should not be done.
Nothing can exceed its own limits.
You could never be done with your memories.
You are free from the cage when you are blind enough to not see it.
Personal freedom brings dependence upon yourself.
Nothing by itself can be at risk.
You are able to make others worse more than they’re able to spoil themselves.
Any beginning needs a possibility of doing away with itself.
We are able to be inspired, but we have no ability for it.
Only perfection makes your mistakes a liability.
Self-confidence is a sign of indifference to yourself and only matters for others.
Being nice to other people you deny them of your sincerity.
In the face of danger responsibility is born.
As long as you are, you won’t be able to fully agree with anybody.
Death comes right after the end.
As a slave you learn the value of your shackles; now free, you cannot put them back on.
Taking care of yourself won’t make you better, but might attract others who will.
Saints are only holy through our sins.
Only artificial life makes real sense.
Your prayer is claiming rights that aren’t your.
There are no winners among losers, but there are always some who appear to be.
You can only be perfect within yourself, but then why would anybody care?
Affirmations cannot be doubted.
Development doesn’t create. Creation doesn’t improve.
You can choose your goal, but you cannot achieve it.
Pain points out problems and difficulties, but prevents you from being aware of them.
Knowledge is neither good nor bad; it is either appropriate or inappropriate.
To be, you have to be willing to become.
As time unfolds, your reflections are coming back to their own origin.
You scream to counter the noise; you listen to grasp the silence.