Chapter One

"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."

[ Awakenings Home ] [ Sidewalk Main Page ] [ Back ] [ Next]

 

 

 

 Thinking over this chapter, recall your journey down the sidewalk of life. What has your experience been? What good times have you had? Do you remember some of the difficult times? Most importantly consider the question, "Have you ever fallen in to one of the holes in the sidewalk?" Have you been minding you own business when the bottom fell out? Have you suddenly found yourself in a pit of frustration, anger, anxiety, resentment, grief, or despair? Have you confronted loss, change, and challenge that caught you by surprise and seemed out of your control?

Chapter One is sometimes true and tells us exactly how life is. Sometimes as you walk down the sidewalk of life you wind up in a deep hole that is not of your own making.

  • If you live on the coast during hurricane season the winds and rains may have come along and damaged your house.
  • The company you work for may have gone bankrupt you lost your job.
  • You return to your car in the mall parking lot and find that someone has smashed your fender.
  • The death of friend brings grief.

Any of these events can place you in a hole of darkness, despair, anger, loss, anxiety, worry, or grief. You did not have anything to do with creating the situation but you must live with it. The hole can indeed be deep and dark, and you have to struggle long and hard to climb out of it.

This is the nature of life. Some things are out of your control. Unexpected events happen. Change always occurs. The most that you can do is adapt to them the best you can. You must struggle out of the hole into which you were thrown and journey on. Hopefully, you grow from such an experience and become a more mature person who is better able to cope with other pitfalls of life.

[ Return to Poem ]

[ Awakenings Home ] [ Sidewalk Main Page ] [ Back ] [ Next]