So I've been reading People and Permaculture by Looby Macnamara. I'll do a longer post about this but today a beautiful poem stood out to me, especially with where I am in my life right now.
Sometimes we find patterns reoccurring even though we think we're changing our behaviors. I think sometimes we don't look at the bigger picture, don't consider all the factors and don't really find a true and real alternative. We tweet rather than shift our paradigms.
Macnamara attributed this poem to Sogyal Rinpoche but I think it wasn't originally written by Portia Nelson. It isn't featured in his book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. I think we can all learn something from such simple and clear words.
Autobiography In Five Chapters
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.
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.
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.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
5) I walk down another street.