Rationality
Consistency
Integrity through time
We hold these up as ideals
Self-evident
As good
Right
Correct
While the messy inconsistency
Irrationality
Splintering of integrity
Of our common humanity
Is bad
Wrong
Meant to be overcome and
overturned
Seems straightforward
Some may acknowledge the
Unattainability
But not question
the correctness
Of the goal
And yet...
If I were to achieve perfect consistency
Through past, present and future
Wouldn’t that also mean
I stop learning
Stop evolving
Stop changing
Perhaps the
inconsistency
irrationality
We all feel in ourselves
from others
Is just a snapshot
Of our continual state of change
The evolutionary process
unfolding
in real time
I sometimes wonder
if humanity’s greatest strength is the ability
To hold
To embody
Conflicting ideas
With equal conviction
Of course
Lack of awareness of the inconsistency
of our ideas and actions can be frustrating
Infuriating
In ourselves
In others
Potentially dangerous
Especially in our leaders
But perhaps cognitive dissonance
Is not a malady to cure
Or a failing of our nature
that we must fight a losing battle to overcome
But an opportunity
To decide:
How will I change next?
Apr 28, 2023
Apr 28, 2023 at 1:05 PM UTC
Rationality
Consistency
Integrity through time
We hold these up as ideals
Self-evident
As good
Right
Correct
While the messy inconsistency
Irrationality
Splintering of integrity
Of our common humanity
Is bad
Wrong
Meant to be overcome and
overturned
Seems straightforward
Some may acknowledge the
Unattainability
But not question
the correctness
Of the goal
And yet...
If I were to achieve perfect consistency
Through past, present and future
Wouldn’t that also mean
I stop learning
Stop evolving
Stop changing
Perhaps the
inconsistency
irrationality
We all feel in ourselves
from others
Is just a snapshot
Of our continual state of change
The evolutionary process
unfolding
in real time
I sometimes wonder
if humanity’s greatest strength is the ability
To hold
To embody
Conflicting ideas
With equal conviction
Of course
Lack of awareness of the inconsistency
of our ideas and actions can be frustrating
Infuriating
In ourselves
In others
Potentially dangerous
Especially in our leaders
But perhaps cognitive dissonance
Is not a malady to cure
Or a failing of our nature
that we must fight a losing battle to overcome
But an opportunity
To decide:
How will I change next?
Request permission to use this poem