Chapter 1.
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 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 cant believe I am in this 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… its a habit.
But, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
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.
poem by Portia Nelson from her book “There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery”
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I learned this poem when I went through Women in Recovery years ago. It’s so great for people who are struggling with addictions, because when one first becomes sober, there are holes everywhere. I remember how well I felt the first time I walked by the hole. I can’t even write how I felt when I walked down another street!
Hello Marion,
“I can’t even write how I felt when I walked down another street!”
Words are so limited to express the larger than life experience of a breakthrough in consciousness.
Thanks for sharing your love here.
See the holes and love anyway!
Hi Miruh,
You would think that she would just drive after falling in the first time. ;D
How many times do we do the same thing with the same results? It’s only after we fix our own potholes does the road get smoother. It is all in the way we steer. Very effective story.
Thanks.
Hello Alexys,
You would think she would drive, but she just didn’t have the kar-ma;D
“It’s only after we fix our own potholes does the road get smoother.”
I would say this is true to some extent, but it also gets smoother if we move carefully around the potholes, that no matter how much we try just can’t be fixed. Like you say, “It is all in the way we steer.”
As always your words bring a smile to my day.
As long as her karma doesn’t run over her dogma. ;D
Hello Alexys,
She should thank her lucky stars if her karma runs over her dogma.
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