The Cumulative Effect

The unfolding of events today raced with the speed and inevitability of the crashing waves upon the shore, hurtling whatever was drawn by the moon's magnetic influence from the sandy bottom of the sea onto the beach where it was as hastily washed back into the unknown. Like a passing fancy the chimera of apprehension has come and gone.

Though we are quick to condemn politicians and leaders for their seeming incapacity to debate and resolve, one need only revisit the latest personal conflicts to acquaint oneself with the foibles of all humanity. The higher we rise upon the ladder of social acclaim, the more prone we are to falling into the trap of miscalculation and misunderstanding as though by virtue of the applause we are entitled to the unqualified benefit of accommodation.  In fact the performance works the other way, in the other direction, raising our stature by diminishing inherent privilege.

Yet it is only by recognition of the axiomatic truth of our inescapable weaknesses that we are enabled to triumph over the loss. The cumulative effect of error - at least in the hands of those who seek to profit by the challenge - is a progressive advancement. But it is no more rapid or distinguishable than the collection of sea gems upon the shore, rolling up and back, irrevocably pulled and controlled by Nature's sway, polished to a shine by relentless abrasion. Sometimes the paramountcy of the tides are irrepressible; and there is occasion for unstoppable harm.

Lingering by the sea, dazzling in the burning sun, altering from prone to erect, reclining and walking on the shore, in and out of the tumultuous water, tiny gulps of salty sea water, sunscreen to prohibit the mounting radiation, covered in specks of salt and sand, increasingly like a worn leather bag. How impossible it is to improve!