“You are the drop, and the ocean
You are kindness, you are anger
You are sweetness, you are poison
Please do no dishearten me
You are the chamber of the sun
You are the abode of Venus
You are the garden of all hope
Oh Beloved, please let me enter”
Rumi
“To become a spectator of one’s own life is to escape the suffering of life”. Oscar Wilde
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy”. Rabindranath Tagore
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Chapters 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 still don’t see it. I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place. 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 there, I still fall in.
It’s habit. It’s my fault. I know where I am. 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 a different street.
© 1977 Portia Nelson, There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery