Do you ever become weary of the story you live? Do you ever wish that things would change in ways that would give you more control over your future? Do you ever wonder what keeps you running head on into the same obstacles over and over again?
What if there were a book or story that spells out the answers to these questions? And . . . what if it were really, really short in length? Interested? I thought you might be. Several years ago, Portia Nelson wrote an exceedingly powerful little book that meets both criteria mentioned above. She entitled it Autobiography in Five Short Chapters. In today’s post, I want to do two things. First, I want to share that powerful writing by Ms. Nelson. Second, I want to inject some commentary between chapters and at the end.
Here goes!
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 helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
Funny thing about familiarity – it tends to breed complacency. When complacency takes hold there is a tendency to blame anyone and anything other than ourselves for the places we find ourselves. I’m not saying that we are completely responsible for all the things in our lives. Often we find ourselves reaping the benefits of the misadventures of others; however, we can and do play a part by going along with the events as if they are our destiny. We struggle and struggle and struggle to extract ourselves from what we secretly believe is predestined.
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 the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Playing pretend is a wonderful way to develop our imagination as children. Great fun abounds when children practice pretending to be someone other than who they are. Through pretending, children find ways to explore space, fight crime, save lives, win wars, find cures, travel the world and just about anything else they want. When adults pretend, we often fake not knowing things that we really do know. When we pretend in this manner, we see that situations exist but ignore that knowledge which causes us to fall into the same patterns of believing and acting.
Chapter III
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.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Habits are comfortable. Habits predictable. Habits can be either positive or negative. Habits can be broken. New habits can be created. Sometimes we see the dangers in front of us, acknowledge them and still fall into the trap. When our awareness reaches the habit level, we KNOW that we are where we are because we choose to be. At this point, remaining in the predicament we find ourselves is untenable. We we know it is our fault, we do everything in our power to distance ourselves from that “thing” that so harasses us.
Chapter IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Clear vision begets deeper awareness. Once we acknowledge the discomfort of familiarity, move beyond pretense, remove ourselves from harmful habits and embrace our part in the process we are able to start changing our behaviors. Even though we walk familiar paths and see the hazards in front of us, we exercise the will to go around the known obstacle. We fail to fall in the same traps!
Chapter V
I walk down another street.
The most powerful and profound outcome of this journey is the final one. Ultimately, mindful self-awareness and purposeful choices empower us to actually take a walk down an entirely different path. The new path holds hazards as well yet, our newly found and developed resiliency causes us to walk through life more circumspectly, making real differences in our lives and the lives of others.
We begin Writing a New Story!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
