Changes and Shifts

Fast Llamas,

This poem showed up on my memories.  Don't you love when that happens?  Every time I read it, I get a new perspective. 

   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.

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.

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.

Chapter IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter V

I walk down another street.

              Portia Nelson from the book There's A Hole in My Sidewalk

What is so great about this poem, is that it could be about anything.  Whether you are dealing with family, patterns of destructive behavior, feelings of helplessness with your current situation or fear of change.  Could it be that your classroom isn't what you want it to be or the relationships with your students aren't what you know they could be? 

But...

If I always do what I always did,

I will always get what I always got;

OR

IF I want something I’ve never had,

I must do something I’ve never done

Sometimes, we don't even know a new street is just around the corner.  Trust in the process and realize that you have choices.  When you fall in the same hole over and over again; how you deal with it, it ultimately up to you.  Reflect and believe that you are in control and change begins with you.