Hard Knocks and Strong Instruction

I looked into the past to guide my way,
recalled a warning, history not repeat,
so insights revealed another day,
perhaps apply, this time, to guide my feet.

And, generalizing, this thought is true;
but learning is not stagnant if we'd grow.
The old augments the point of what is new,
and helps keep fresh the lessons we would know.

The school of life, hard knocks, some would say,
gives lessons with experience underlined.
And, what is gathered, in passing, on the way,
is imprinted, enduring, on the mind.

What scale is there to weigh experience?
And, is valid, all that we observe?
When touched by higher, sovereign Influence,
a peace may come, though circumstances swerve.

The coincidence of obstacle so placed,
from encounter, the lesson of today is found.
By strengthening hand, the distress is faced,
and so, the lesson learned this way, made sound.