Autobiography in five short chapters'' by portia nelson theme

In her poem, Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, Portia Nelson describes the stages of psychological change with beautiful simplicity.

Chapter I

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 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 this 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 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 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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

V
I walk down another street.

by Portia Nelson

 

A mindfulness classic, this one. It came to mind last week as a friend shared some exasperation about repeating habitual patterns in stressful situations: “I thought Krishnamurti said that the seeing is the doing! Why is this popping up again and again?!”

Much c

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Poem: “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” by Portia Nelson

Today I rediscovered a poem I read many years ago.  Back then I had no idea who wrote it.  But now, with the help of the Internet and, specifically, Wikipedia, I know to attribute it to Portia Nelson, an American singer/songwriter, actress and author.  I didn’t realize this, but she played Sister Berthe in the 1965 movie, “The Sound of Music”!

Portia Nelson survived breast cancer in the 1970s, a time when being diagonsed with cancer was a death knell.  She also survived throat and tongue cancer (thought to be caused by years spent singing in smoky cabaret and night clubs) in the early 1990s only to succumb to it later in 2001.

I hope you enjoy the simplicity and staightforward tone and wisdom of her poem as much as I do.  Ms. Nelson sure knew what she was talking about!

An Autobiography in Five Chapters
by Portia Nelson

Chapter 1
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 f