Incorrect thinking leads to incorrect action and disturbs our peace and happiness which form the essence of spirituality. The issue is how does one think correctly. A look at some contradictory proverbs.

First, I shall explain what I understand by spirituality. Anything that is legal, moral and leads to peace, happiness and equanimity comes under the purview of proactive applied spirituality which emphasizes more on prevention rather than cure . It has more to do with correct thinking since incorrect thinking leads to wrong action and undesirable consequences. It is concerned more to solve problem at the cause level than at the effect level( Running after different types of meditations and divine knowledge).

Since spirituality is all about correct thinking, let us see if we can arrive at correct thinking by proverbs which contain the distilled wisdom of the ages.

Where there is a will, there is a way.
Will is no skill.

.Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Many hands make light work.

Fortune favors the brave.
It is better to lose opportunity than to lose capital

Nothing succeeds like success.
All covet, all lose.

A drop of honey catches more flies than a bottle of vinegar.
Softness evokes no compliance.

Similarly people follow the dictum “ Nothing succeeds like success” blindly without realizing its full implications. They do not realize that “ All covet, all lose” or “ Those who miss the silver linning are those who opt for the gold” are equally true . Writers like Peter drucker and Tom peters have given examples of founders of companies who could were not good enough to carry them forward. There are also examples of leaders who have turned around sick companies but still have been changed because the new situation called for a new change in leadership. Then how true is the saying “Nothing succeeds like success. “ ?It is obvious that the reverse saying is equally true . The next time somebody rambles off a proverb or a saying , be careful because the reverse may be equally true and may apply to you. There is nothing that is universally or perennially true and one would be well advised not to follow any saying blindly

From reading all this, one may be tempted to conclude that the best bet would be to follow the golden mean or that “Virtue lies in the middle.”. They may think that the two opposite views are polarised views and the middle path is the safest truth. This may not also be true as suggested by the following quote:-

“We know what happens to people who stand in the middle of the road. They get run over.”

Therefore following the middle path too can prove to be very deceptive. Although extremes are considered to be undesirable, there are quotes favoring them as suggested by the following quote

“Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of habit.”

“At Brainreserve, we never work toward a solution- we always go past it. We push the problem all the way to the end, to the blackest future possibility. The extreme. Then we let the trends help us work back to the solution. It’s an approach we call extremism and it works for every problem.” –FAITH POPCORN, AMERICAN Business Consultant

“Viveka” or discrimination is one of the most ardent principles of India’s cultural heritage. It more than any other principle is needed to distinguish the truth and discriminate because “the exact opposite of what is generally believed is often the truth” which is brought out by the following statements:-

“ A great truth is a truth whose opposite is also a truth” – Thomas Mann

“ All maxims have their opposites, and proverbs should be sold in pairs a single one being half the truth.” - SENECA

This is why perhaps it is said that.

“ Truth is a pathless land”
“ Truth is not only unknown but unknowable”
“ Truth is stranger than fiction”

One can conclude from all this that one should follow the golden mean and the word “Never” and the word “Always” are the most dangerous words in the English language and one should never make sweeping generalizations. However never making sweeping generalizations is in itself a sweeping generalization and therefore one has to identify which sweeping generalisations are correct. I have identified five

Always avoid accidents
Everything has moderates and extremes.
Nothing works all the time.
Never Insult anybody.

Conclusion When you are saying something, be confident not sure. This is a good spiritual technology to rein in the ego. If you feel confused, remember that you were actually confused earlier.