I love poems because they very often have a wonderful way of say something with great meaning! And I particularly love this one. It’s one of my favourites and I often refer to during my therapeutic work.

Back in 2014 my original blog talked about how this short poem paints a picture of the journey into awareness. I see this as a positive message of hope for change, when change is perceived as difficult and that we can learn from experience.

It doesn’t come about all at once the process of becoming aware, but bit by bit. It’s about learning to be patient with yourself. Awareness doesn’t come by forcing things. It’s about experiencing, taking stock, learning and growing.

Sometimes you fall down and fall time and time again, then maybe after the 10th or 11th time of getting up and dusting self-down, realisation occurs and an awareness that something needs to change happens.

The work is about not giving up every time you stumble and fall, but in the getting up, looking at what just happened and growing from the experience.

Recovery can take time and I often ask people to consider how we learn to walk. Do we just stand up and walk? No, and it’s the same with recovery.

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

Chapter I
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 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 this 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 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.

 By Portia Nelson

Credits
Picture: elcodigodebarras. (2017) ‘Circular.’ [Online] Available at: https://pixabay.com/en/circular-forest-dimension-circle-3002865/ (Accessed: 27 February 2018)

Bibliography
Nelson, P. (2018) Autobiography In Five Short Chapters. [Online] Available at: http://www.dwlz.com/Motivation/tips26.html (Accessed: 27th February, 2018)