I greet The Indwelling Poet.
Today’s “Pay Forward” gift is - I want to share this poem that has touched the heart of so many in recovery. “There’s A Hole in My Sidewalk.” A poem that has been reprinted and quoted countless times since its original publication in 1977, “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson has become a classic:
Chapter 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.
Chapter 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 am in this same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5: I walk down another street.
“There’s A Hole in My Sidewalk,” from which this poem came, is a mainstay of recovery groups. Thy Love, Thy Will be done.