Great books help you change your perspective on life. They provide you with insights, arouse your levels of curiosity and sometimes drag you down different rabbit holes, which you wouldn’t have dared to imagine they existed.
On my quest to quenching my thirst and broadening my knowledge for spirituality, I came across an absolutely amazing poem that I’d like to share with you.
It goes like this:
Photo credit: Image by Psisaa from Dreamstime
There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery
by Portia Nelson
“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.
__
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.
__
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.
__
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
__
I walk down a different street.“
The Power of Responsibility
We live in challenging times and a lot of people are falling victim to mental health disorders and diseases. Psychiatrists are booked for months and years ahead while seemingly more and more people turn to outside factors to get help.
Challenging times call for clear heads, value-driven priorities, creativity, better collaboration and bold decisions.
Humans have forgotten how powerful they are.
We’ve been conditioned over the years to look for extrinsic, often materialistic things that make us feel worthy, valuable, loving or happy. After the Second World War the ‘program’ has become more intrusive and indistinguishable, cleverly designed to hijack our subconscious mind and move us into doing things without thinking clearly.
The media and advertising companies along with fellow marketing consultants have done an excellent job to indoctrinate the human soul and further the illusion of separateness. Individuality especially in Western societies has been put on a pedestal, turning once loving communities into empty entities made up of characters running shoeless, clueless in a society that has lost connection to the greater good and the all-encompassing source of light.
It’s time to take your power back.
Turn off your TV, leave the phone on your desk and get out into nature. Get back control over your life and more importantly, your thoughts. Pay close attention to the inner chatter as it will highlight the things you’ve become so addicted to.
As you start listening to your inner voice and distance yourself from the outer world, you will notice a lot of strange things about yourself. It’s a process. Don’t be harsh on yourself. Years of junk and cluttered thoughts take a bit of time to unwind. Be patient.
True healing always comes from the inside. You’re always one decision away from feeling fulfilled and in control of your life.
No drug on this planet can give you that high.
No government can give you that feeling of safety and security you can give yourself by regaining trust into your inner strength.
No external factors, remedies, doctors, mentors, etc. can give you inner peace. It’s something you give to yourself.
You accomplish all this by taking full responsibility.
This in turn enables you to navigate the most dangerous waters and more importantly, it allows you to enjoy the game on this planet. And when your game is over, you can at least say that you played it YOUR way.
Ready to pay a little more attention to your sidewalk?
Originally published on my blog at StrengthInBusiness.com.
Podcast version at StrengthInBusiness.com