Wednesday, May 26, 2010

"Autobiography in Five Short Chapters"

Found this great poem while reading at work today. I could ramble on about what it means to me in my own journey of discovery, or what it could mean to you, but I think it speaks for itself...

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Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

Chapter I

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

Chapter II

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 am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III

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 ... but,
my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter IV

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

Chapter V

I walk down another street.

2 comments:

  1. That's a great one. Perfect example of our ablity to learn. Of course there are many areas of my life where I keep falling down the whole. This is a simple example of what is sometimes a very difficult task.

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  2. I love how in the first two "chapters", she repeats "its not my fault" - but then she realizes by repeating the mistakes, it IS her fault and she takes more and more responsibility for changing her life

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