Stop Falling Into That Old Pattern

I've often given the following poem to clients who are struggling with changing their lives and are down on themselves for not being able to change faster. It is intended to give us hope so we can continue our journey. When we are in our own personal “hole” it is so difficult to see our way. Most of us tend to beat ourselves up which only digs our own hole even deeper.

So here's my summer gift to all of my readers. Please enjoy!

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Autobiography in Five Chapters

I walk down the street,
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost . . . I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street,
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street,
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in . . . it's a habit.
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

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(Borrowed from the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, p. 31-32

Footnote references: Portia Nelson quoted in Charles L. Whitfield M.D., Healing the Child Within (Orlando, FL: Health Communications, 1989).