Adaptation

The old ways

The old ways were as big as the sky, as wide as the earth, as heavy as stone, as light as feathers. People these days don't think much of them.

So I ask myself how the old ways could be so reasonable and yet so unconvincing. And how useful are they when people aren't reasonable and end up so distant?

So if I want to prove myself, the first step is looking out for number one.

I look around and get the lay of the land to find my own way. I'm looking for evidence of how to do the right thing. Once I know how to do the right thing I know how to keep myself safe. Left, right, ahead, behind, I make the rounds and make my way back. I carry the torch, take up the mantle, welcome new ways with an open mind.

Now these newcomers should channel the old ways with no spin and no hype. That means they'll last. They fit in by being normal. Good manners and good hearts complement each other. They pitch in by not picking sides. That's how I know they're the old ways.

If I want to convert them, I'll have to learn as I go and stand my ground. Expect it to shift but never know when. Read the room so I can keep up.

So even if my arguments are as compelling as the sun at noon, it's not like anyone's censoring me. People just aren't interested. We move closer together when we agree, we move farther apart when we don't. I accept that we're farther apart when we disagree if that's what it takes for me to remember how convincing they were in the old days.