Have you read the ‘Sane New World’ and ‘Frazzled’ books by Ruby Wax? She talks about mindfulness in such a practical way. It started my whole journey down this route. She included this poem by Portia Nelson in ‘Sane New World’. I heard her read this in her audiobook as I was just arriving at work one sunny morning and it struck a chord with me.
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Chapter 1
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.
Chapter 2
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.
Chapter 3
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
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
Portia Nelson, taken from ‘There’s A Hole In My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self Discovery’
