Today’s Solutions: April 28, 2025

An aphorism by James Geary, author of The World in a Phrase and Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists.

James Geary | June/July 2009 issue
A loose thread protruding from my favorite sweater. So this is what everything hangs by; this is what holds it all together. A thread can never relax; it shrivels if you cut it too much slack. Tension is the only thing that gives it shape, purpose. It gladly bears the stress even as it starts to fray around the edges. Once shorn from its pattern, though, a thread becomes lost, distraught, useless as a snapped violin string, a coil of old rope. This no doubt explains a thread’s tenacity, knowing how quickly things unravel, that clinging is its only strength. “The weakest link in the chain is also the strongest,” Polish aphorist Stanislaw Jerzy Lec wrote. “It can break the chain.”
James Geary is the author of The World in a Phrase: A History of Aphorisms
and Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists
. jamesgeary.com

Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

In Switzerland, doctors are prescribing museum visits to boost mental health

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In western Switzerland, doctors are embracing an unexpected ally in the quest for better mental health: art. In ...

Read More

Manchester’s phone-free nightclub revives the rave spirit for a new generation

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a culture saturated with selfies, social media stories, and endless scrolling, one Manchester nightclub is encouraging something ...

Read More

How the words of James Baldwin can help guide us towards racial justice

Protests in the name of George Floyd have served as a vital moment of contemplation and introspection, for asking ourselves the tough questions we ...

Read More

Study confirms you slow degenerative aging by picking up the pace

It’s no surprise that maintaining an active lifestyle is linked to staving off age-related diseases such as heart damage, memory loss, and cognitive decline. ...

Read More