The Precedent
Once set, a precedent
haunts reality with an iron fist,
for we mere mortals can only know
one step at a time,
and our evolution of sentience
is filled with stops and starts,
base nature so often reverted to
in stress and under pressure.
Precedence is like stepping stones,
set often by others
and used to follow in thoughts and action,
to placate the needs of society
in the order and stability of life en masse,
and the laws that are approximations,
of what will prevail
for the common good.
The precedent lives in consciousness,
as a letter of law yet not a truth,
a definitive measure of human propensity,
and as such it vacillates,
between appropriate and inappropriate,
until it is replace by yet another precedent,
another approximation of adapting to
the circumstances of evolving life.
When we set precedents,
we are creating inflexibility,
the truth always pushing against a finite stance,
and malleable must we be
to change and bend with undulating life
and the constant growth of truth,
seen through acceptance
and an open mind.
Tony DeLorger © 2016
Tony DeLorger
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So we need to be pliable, able to bend without breaking? Because there are so many changes throughout life, even truth evolves. I read it twice and pondered, thinking about some people I know who have such a hard time with life because they cannot accept changes and stick to an old precedent. Very well penned, Tony.
Glad you related and enjoyed the thoughts Phyllis. Take care.
This reminded me of Aesop’s fable ‘The Oak and the Reeds’ It is all so ingrained, and difficult at times, to see the difference between what we know ourselves to be true, within ourselves, and not what we have accepted, as you say, as precedence. Thought provoking Tony. Thank you.
Best,
Mel
Glad you appreciated it Mel. Thank you.
Many laws, or should I say legal outcomes, rely on a precedent being set before being passed, found guilty, or innocent etc. precedents need to be established in many aspects of life and society. Good thought provoking poem.
Thanks John, glad you enjoyed my musing. Cheers!