Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. It’s a famous line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” uttered by a more-than-thirsty sailor on a ship bereft of fresh water as he is forced to stare at an ocean of sea water he cannot use to satiate his need. 

Bridging the gap is a popular idiom derived from Old English. In its earliest use—and not surprisingly—bridge meant “to make a causeway” and gap meant “an opening in a wall.” So, to the drywallers, civil engineers, and road construction crews of the early 14th century (Ha!), bridging a gap was quite literal.

Easy ain’t easy. Sounds like something said by cultural catchphrase artist and legendary baseball player Yogi Berra, but it sums up a conversation I had at a recent tradeshow in Atlanta.

While Taoist philosopher Lao Tsu was the first to make the statement, “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know” part of his formal teachings, some form of the wisdom behind this statement has been attributed to such great philosophical minds as Socrates, Buddha, and Jesus.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. According to Ty Webb, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line…in the opposite direction.” 

Knowing the environment, or being aware of your surroundings, is key to many a task. It’s at least one of the ways we express the importance of having all the information we need in order to reach a goal.

“Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a term often heard by just about anyone who has ever set out to perform a task. It can be found on inspirational posters and do-it-yourself home repair manuals as well as articles on life management and corporate handbooks.

Seems like everyone who fancies themselves an artist or performer uses—or overuses—the term “pushing the envelope” when describing their craft. However, if we journey back to the origins of the term we can regain the value of its meaning.

It is called Eternalism. It’s the philosophy adopted from the quantum theory that the past, present, and future all exist at the same time. In other words, the past, present, and future are not linear. One does not take place right after the other, rather they all exist equally.

Like many others, the word trend has evolved and changed in meaning over time. Some 400 years ago trend meant “to run or bend in a certain direction” and pertained to natural occurrences like rivers, coastlines and mountain ranges.