Choices

There’s A Hole In My Sidewalk
– by Portia Nelson

I read this poem during my Yoga Teacher Training and was asked to reflect on my personal pitfalls and my relationship to them. There have been many.

I think overall, this poem reminds me that I have choices. I choose day by day what I will create with my life. I am reminded that some of my choices have not supported me and moving forward, I can choose something different.

I have stayed in situations because it was familiar and felt safer to just stay than to deal with the unknown. Sometimes choosing different feels uncomfortable at first, just like walking down an unfamiliar street. Self doubt creeps in. Will I miss out on something on the old street? What if the new street isn't any better? What if it's harder?

Once I choose a different street, am I not free to choose another...and another? Imagine the possibilities.

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  • 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.

  • Chapter Two

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 Three

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 Four

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

  • Chapter Five

I walk down another street.