We go into change rehearsing the history that brought us to this point ~ Parker Palmer
“Often we rehearse the truth until we find the courage to live it. When feeling the press of the patterns that govern our lives, it can be a slow and unclear process to move from the unconscious repeating of patterns towards a conscious rehearsal of patterns needed for self-transformation.
The process is powerfully distilled by Portia Nelson in her poem Autobiography in Five Short Chapters:
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 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.
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.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
I walk down another street.
So, breaking patterns involves repeating. There is no getting around it, though we are always pressed to discern whether we are reliving what doesn’t work or peeling away what is false.”
~ Excerpt Taken from Finding Inner Courage by Mark Nepo
Published On Ishta School f Yoga and Health newsletter, June 2024, https://ishtayoga.co.za/
